


Curse of High Field Mountain

by MysticAssassin



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Beautiful art, Gen, Mystery, Natsume Yuujinchou Big Bang, Supernatural - Freeform, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 07:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20336737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticAssassin/pseuds/MysticAssassin
Summary: In a sleepy village above a large mountain, a rumour begins to spread. More and more people from the village are disappearing and no one knows the cause. Eventually, the rumours start to spread in certain circles, and Natori is contacted about the issue. It’s a much bigger case than he’s had before, and enlists the help of Natsume. No more lies, no more pretenses.“Natsume, will you help me on this?”What they later find is something beyond what they had imagined. Several years ago, disaster struck the area, and the entire village was wiped out. Those who managed to survive, fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Or so the story goes. When Natori and Natsume visit, though the village is barren, they manage to find one or two villagers within the foggy village- disappearing into the darkness of their shops, or escaping deeper into the fog...Art byshinspart





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I definitely want to give a big shout out to everyone who helped and encouraged me along this ride of writing this fic. My friend who went from the one I pulled in to just read to being the one who went above and beyond to edit- and also made me change my writing style haha
> 
> Also want to thank my **A**mazing artist, who also gave me words of praise and encouragement as I was stressing about writing and finishing the story. I only hope my writing gives justice to the breathtaking artwork!  
Please check out more of their art on Tumblr: **[shinspart](https://shinspart.tumblr.com/)**
> 
> This fic has become a milestone for me. It’s the first Big Bang that I’ve participated in. But it’s also the first chapter fic that I’ve ever finished. I had to battle with motivation, procrastination, and my general inability to stay focused on a single task. Not to mention just “life” deciding to be challenging in the midst of it all.  
Now I know I can actually do it.
> 
> I love Natsume Yuujinchou so much, and I’m glad I got to be a part of this event.
> 
> Please read and enjoy!!

_ “There lies a mountain in the far East. There has been talk of mysterious disappearances. Several monks have gone to solve the problem, but none have been successful. In fact, none have come back. No one could tell when it all started. There are many versions which all end in the same way- a cycle of death and destruction, hate and vengeance. To find out more about it all, the only true, best way would be to obtain the information for oneself.” _

[](https://www.flickr.com/gp/183689922@N07/9547uc)

Natori read the note over once more. An exasperated sigh escaped him. “You can tell your master that I’ve received the note.” He eyed the creature that had slunk into the shadows as soon as they had delivered the message that they were meant to. Instead of disappearing immediately, it lingered. Stared at him, unblinking. Two red pinpricks where the eyes would be gazing out of the darkness. Behind him, Hiiragi, Sasago, and Urihime lingered protectively. Hiiragi’s hand twitched to rest on her sword, but Urihime’s hair rustled. She stopped. The eyes in the darkness did not flicker toward them, but only another second passed before those too completely sunk into nothingness.

With the spirit gone, Natori removed the eye-glasses perched upon his face. He leaned back into his chair- exasperation mounting. 

“Master.” Hiiragi’s one-eyed mask appeared in his upturned line of sight. “What does the note say.” Her voice as even and measured as usual. But there was a curiosity that resonated. There always was when it came to Natori. 

“Hiiragi, stop pestering Master.” Sasago spoke. But her curiosity was there as well.

“It seems we’ll be going to an impromptu party.” If Hiiragi’s expressions could be seen, her eyebrows would be pinched together in askance. But the three spirits did nothing but stand by and watch the exorcist as he picked up the note once more to skim its contents.

—

It was a few days later when Natori found himself donned in his exorcist robes. His arms folded into the sleeves in front of him, glasses perched upon his face. Hiiragi was the only one left at his side, Sasago and Urihime out along the premises. They would be there in the blink of an eye if he needed. Hiiragi only remained because she solemnly left the man’s side. She got it in her head that the information gathering would be dangerous, and she would rather be close enough to act- despite his constant telling of otherwise.

“Ah, Natori. It certainly is rare to glance your face at such meetings.” An old exorcist spoke from behind him before moving to his side. Natori turned.

“If I showed up too often, how would I manage to keep people wanting to see more of me.” Charm. It was his fall back for everything, even in situations that he would rather not be in.

“I think your skill as an exorcist proves your worth itself.”

“You flatter me.” It was all pleasantries. His mind already drifting to questions he’d need answered; questions about the strange mountain that was brought to his attention. The whole reason he was even at the party.

Before he could continue, or before the other man could, a new voice came from nearby.

“Natori. I’m surprised to see your face here.” He turned to see Nanase, an ever-present member of the Matoba Clan. She was dressed as sharply as ever in a lavender cotton, two-piece pantsuit.

“Just how many meetings do you have, to make it obvious that I’m not here?”

Nanase outrightly ignored his words. She turned her head back and forth, the action made it obvious that she was looking for something in particular. She then turned back to Natori, a suspicious tint glinted the lens of her rounded glasses. “I see the Natsume boy is not with you.”

“We’re not as close as you seem to think.” A lie. He would never let anyone know how important Natsume was to him. The less they knew, the better. He would protect Natsume. “It’s good to get out and learn things every now and then. After all, there’s so much useful knowledge.”

She folded her arms over her chest. Her gaze focused on Natori’s own as if she was trying to read the inner workings of his mind. She sighed. “Don’t tell me you’re using an exorcist meeting to gather information for your _ acting. _”

“But if you can’t utilise all your resources, what is the point of it all?” Natori slipped on an easy smile. His flighty, boyish acting charisma painting over his image.

Nanase barely controlled a roll of her eyes. “Perhaps you should invite the boy next time.”

Natori’s smile only shone brighter as it stretched wider. “He doesn’t seem the kind to be an actor. But I’ll be sure to ask the next time I run into him.” 

Nanase brought her hand to her forehead and sighed at Natori’s antics. But she didn’t say anything else, and the exorcist-actor used that moment to dismiss himself. As he walked away he could still feel her eyes boring into his back. He expected her to call out to him again, but the voice of the man he had been speaking to earlier rose up drawing her attention away. Eventually, Nanase’s voice chimed in as the two engaged in conversation. Natori let out a small sigh and continued with his retreat.

Natori had lost track of how many people he had spoken to at the exorcist get together. How many times he’d tried, and _ failed _to gather information on this supposed mysterious mountain. It began to look more and more like a cautionary tale- a myth or legend than anything else. As an attendant walked by with a tray of drinks- some glasses empty, some filled to the brim. Natori snagged one. He gave a charming smile to the waiter who looked up only to hustle away between the throngs of people.

“Natori Shuuichi. Your face isn’t one I see at these meetings often.”

Natori downed the drink, then looked at his glass when he realised there was nowhere to put it. He turned.

“Yes. I’m starting to see that.”

“What brings you here? Beside information of course. I can’t imagine one would come to these things simply to meet up for a casual chat with other clans.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of free time.” The two gave a short chuckle. Natori’s eyes fell back to his empty glass, watching the condensation make patterns of streaks and drops of water all along the surface. He would give one more chance on finding out information for what he had gone in attendance for. If it led to another dead end then he would have to find other means to know what he wanted. Or admit that he was sent on a goose chase. The latter did not do well for his mood. “I came to find out about a mountain in the north-west.”

“I’m sure you are aware that there are many mountains in our beautiful land.” The man gave another short chuckle at his own words.

“I suppose.” Natori conceded as he watched the condensation on his empty glass. “Though this seems to be the only one where people go missing without a trace.”

He expected the man to make another attempt at a witty remark. Nothing came. Natori looked up at his fellow exorcist to see the man’s eyes narrowed in thought before looking around the room as if checking to see who was nearby. Once he was satisfied he turned back to Natori.

“Why don’t we have a drink? Your glass looks a bit lonely.”

Natori stared at the man for a moment. Going by the time he had spent trying to find something on the current case he was pursuing, it seemed that the information finally came to him. He glanced at the glass in his hand, and looked back up to see another waiter making rounds. As they passed by, he swiftly rested the glass on the tray.

“I could use a quality drink.”

—

After the meeting Natori felt a headache niggling at the corners of his skull. He didn’t know if it was because of the exorcist meeting, the meeting that came after, or the large amounts of alcohol he may or may not have consumed whilst receiving all the information. In reality, it was possibly a combination of all three. 

They had gotten drinks at a fairly populous area. A number of people, both young and old traipsed the sidewalks. Taxis drove by more oft than not in the streets. Natori hailed one and got in.

He would certainly need to further investigate into the matter of the mountain. But he knew there were a number of books that would shed light onto the matter as his family home. 

—

When Natori got to his estate he didn’t waste time reminiscing about a childhood passed, or wandering around the grounds lost in nostalgia. He made his way to the library, his legs taking him without incident even as pain pounded against his skull. 

He browsed the shelves, his fingers brushing against the spine of each book. As he found one that he thought would help his investigation, his fingers lingered. He tapped the spine before finally pulling the book from its tight confines. By the end he had a stack of five books.

Natori sat, his stack placed in front of him, before he opened the one on top to pour over its contents. Hiiragi appeared from thin air, and stood beside him. She didn’t say anything, and Natori continued with his work as if she wasn’t there. 

He managed to reach the middle of book two before Hiiragi made a sound. She placed a glass onto the table. Natori looked over at the clear liquid.

“You should drink something, Master. Humans are quickly ailed from a large alcoholic consumption.” 

Natori’s laugh was hollow. “It’s already late for that.” He took the glass regardless, and downed the contents, thanking Hiiragi absently. He continued with his research and his shiki once again let him be. Though he could still feel her presence lingering somewhere close behind him.

The reading proved a bit dry by the third book. Natori flipped through the pages with one hand. His other keeping his head propped up as he read. He finished the book with a sigh, putting it to the side and grabbing another. As Natori read through the fourth book in his pile, his fingers stilled momentarily before he used them as a guide as they skimmed across the pages. He sat up a bit straighter, his lips involuntarily reading the words aloud. 

“Nothing ever comes easy, does it.” Natori sighed. He reached up to take his glasses off only to realise that he’d never put them on in the first place. 

“Are you going to ask Natsume?” Hiiragi’s voice broke through the fog of Natori’s mind. Her question was clipped, but the exorcist knew exactly what she was referring to. He had thought about it himself. Rather, the idea had flitted through his mind unwarranted.

“Oh? Ask him what?” 

Hiiragi stared at him for a long moment. It wasn’t exactly unnerving for Natori as he could imagine others may feel. Instead it was like a silent judging and scolding look. He sighed heavily.

“He shouldn’t be tangled up in things such as these, Hiiragi. It could get dangerous.”

“Natsume should decide what he wants to do.” A brief pause. “You should gather all the help you can.”

Natori sighed once more. He could understand all the subtleties in his shiki’s speech, the care over his well-being in suggesting safety in numbers. But he didn’t know if he was willing to risk Natsume’s safety either. He kept silent, and so did Hiiragi. She seemed to know when to stop and simply leave him to his own thoughts. He would have a lot to think about. 

He looked at the book again, the words he’d just read, jumping out at him. He closed the book, pushed it to the side, and rested his head in his arms. He needed sleep. If he was to think about his next move clearly, he’d need to get rid of his headache first.

—

“Sensei, don’t wander off too far.” Natsume called out to his cat bodyguard. Nyanko-sensei either didn’t care to listen, or hadn’t heard as he bounded off ahead in chase of a butterfly.

Natsume shook his head as he watched his bodyguard disappear into the underbrush of the forest. He cast a quick glance around his surroundings in his suddenly isolated state. There weren’t even tiny spirits lingering in the quiet corners of the forest as far as he could see. He shook the feeling and continued his casual stride. His attention caught once more when a nearby bush rustled loudly.

Natsume’s steps halted. “Sensei?” He waited a moment, expecting the lucky cat form to leap into sight. It didn’t. The bushes rustled more urgently than before, and Natsume took a defensive step backward. 

A blur of white flew out at him. He only had time to throw his hands up to shield his face before something latched onto his arm. A startled yell ripped from his throat as he tried to shake his arm free. He grabbed whatever was attached to his arm, ready to rip it off, when it fell limp. The harried tugging stopped suddenly. He looked down to see a large white humanoid-shaped paper. At the same moment the bushes rustled again making him look toward it.

“N-Natori-san?” 

“Natsume.”

Another section of the bushes moved and the two males looked in time to see a white ball flip into the air only to land in the shape of white, orange, and grey fluff. Nyanko’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in the scene. Natsume’s look of surprise, the paper hanging limp from his arm, and finally settling on the taller of the two- still slightly amidst the forest brush.

“Natori-san. What is this?” Natsume cut through the terse silence, loosely gesturing to the paper talisman. “If you needed me, there are more normal ways to do so.” He sighed, his mind taking him back to one of their earliest meetings. He was at least grateful that this time he was not dragged along the forest ground against his will. 

“I’m sorry Natsume. It was only meant to locate you.” Natori held his hand palm upward. The paper in Natsume’s grip rustled and shrunk. When Natsume let it go, it flew obediently into Natori’s awaiting palm. 

“Is something wrong?” Natsume grew concerned when Natori closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Can’t control a simple trick, and you look like shit.” Nyanko harrumphed. Natsume gasped. 

“_ Sensei!” _

Though, when Natsume looked at Natori again, he could see that the man looked a bit tired. And he was. 

It had been several days since Natori had holed himself up in his estate’s library. In those days he had weighed the pros and cons to what he had now come to do. And even still, the point of keeping Natsume out of danger outweighed all else. Though Natori saw the sense in Hiiragi’s earlier words.

_ “Natsume should decide what he wants to do. You should gather all the help you can.” _

If nothing else, he would at least talk to Natsume about it. He focused on the boy who looked back at him expectantly.

“Why don’t we go somewhere and talk.”


	2. Chapter 2

Natori had agreed to speak with Natsume on the matter concerning his current case. What he did not agree to was to have the meeting in the younger boy’s room. In fact, he had expressly suggested that they go to a tea shop to talk. 

Natsume had dismissed the idea, suggesting that the Fujiwara residence would be better since they were close by. Natori supposed he was a bit relieved that Natsume now felt comfortable enough to invite people to his home. 

A soft knock came from the room’s entrance, and Natori turned toward it. Touko appeared when the door slid open, a tray of tea, sweets, and refreshing slices of watermelon before her. As she took the tray into the room, and placed it on Natsume’s table, she spared Natori a sweet smile. He smiled back, but was caught in a feeling that he was doing something wrong. When she left, the room felt a whole lot bigger and emptier than it had before she entered. 

Natsume’s own head was filled with different thoughts. His mind jumped around on various topics that Natori could possibly want to talk about. It seemed serious enough as Natori seemed cautious to even bringing the subject up.

The exorcist cast his glance around the room, fingers lightly tracing things within arms reach. Natsume almost laughed- Natori seemed like a pet testing out a new environment. But when Natori turned back to him and opened his mouth to speak, Natsume’s shoulders tensed and he sat up a little straighter, his hands balled into fists and rested on his folded legs.

“So this is what a student’s room looks like these days.” 

The tension flooded from Natsume’s shoulders as he looked at Natori with a raised eyebrow. “You were once a student too.” He paused for the briefest moment before, “I thought you had something important to say, Natori-san?”

The exorcist-actor nodded his head and sighed. He walked further into the room and took a seat opposite Natsume, his legs crossed in front of him in a state more relaxed than he felt. Nyanko perked up and sauntered over now that the atmosphere got serious. The imitation-cat couldn’t hide his curiosity over the situation either. 

Natori looked between the two for a moment, his mind sorting through ways of bringing up the issue. He picked up one of the teacups from the tray, taking a sip.

“I have a large case coming up,” his gaze drawn once more to the minimal items neatly stored around the room. That was a lot easier to do. Easier than looking at the person he would soon ask to put themselves in danger for a job he still lacked information on. “There’s been a string of people going missing in a mountain in the northeast region of Wakayama prefecture. The cause isn’t too clear but it seems that it’s a problem that they’ve been having for quite some time now. 

“I...see.” Natsume’s voice was a bit distracted. “Will you be away for a while then?” 

“Possibly. I’m not sure how long it would take to solve the problem. Hopefully not too long.”

Natori turned back in time to see Natsume slowly nod his head before turning to share a look with Nyanko. He wasn’t expecting the opportunity, but he used it to ask what he needed. “I would like you to join me for this, Natsume.”

Natsume’s head swivelled back to look at him and the two made eye-contact once more. Natori got a clear view of the shocked look painted across Natsume’s features. The boy could not help the feeling of surprise that came from Natori being so open about the situation. 

“You don’t have to-” Natori started to speak but Natsume cut him off soon after.

“I’d like to help.”

It was the exorcist’s turn to be surprised, especially with how determined the boy looked.

Nyanko’s gaze fell upon the boy as well, but he didn’t say anything, still observing the situation.

“It could be dangerous.” Natori tried to reason with him by giving the boy an opening to back out if he needed to, part of him wishing Natsume would take the opportunity.

“That means you would need all the help that you can get.” Natsume was not deterred by his efforts. 

As if waiting around just for that very moment, Hiiragi appeared in a cloud of smoke. Natsume startled, calling out her name in surprise. No matter how many times she did such appearances, he could not seem to get used to it. 

The exorcist heaved a heavy sigh, already knowing what would come next. The shiki only stood to the side, remaining silent. 

“Is there something you want to say, Hiiragi?”

“Natsume has already said what needs to be said.”

Natori brought his hand to his face and heaved another wary sigh. He should have known he would be ganged up upon by his shiki as well as Natsume. He almost laughed at the situation. He lowered his arm to better look at his human companion.

“I suppose you would need to ask your guardians. I can help with that. You’re on holiday now aren’t you?”

Natsume nodded at Natori’s question. He didn’t need the help, but it was nice to know it was offered. The two of them had done trips before, and the Fujiwaras- especially Touko-san- had seemed to take a liking to Natori. She would on occasion even assign Natsume little errands when he was out to deliver food to the older man. 

“We’ll need the pig cat as well.” Natsume was drawn out of his thoughts as Natori spoke. He turned to the exorcist and saw him looking toward Nyanko, “But I’m not sure it’s wise to bring him along. As I said before, it could get dangerous.”

Nyanko snorted before letting out a mocking laugh. “Ha! You think whatever is in that mountain is a match for the likes of my greatness? And you think  _ you  _ would fare better?”

“I seem to forget that there’s something more to you beside that hideous pig-like appearance.” 

Nyanko’s fur bristled, and he all but hissed. The pig-cat poised himself to launch at the exorcist-actor, but Natsume was able to grab and stop him in time. Natsume held him back by his red collar, plucking him midair, before placing him out of the way, to the side. The lucky cat harrumphed in irritation.

Natori made a weak attempt to cover up his laughter, “Well then, it seems we have a good a team as any.” 

“When will we leave?” Natsume spoke up staring the conversation back into seriousness.

“In two weeks time. It will be a little close to when your school reopens, but we’ll be back before then.” If anything were to happen at least it meant they would be running around in cooler temperatures rather than the midst of summer. “Pack a jacket, it might get chilly on the mountain.”

Natsume nodded, his inquiries already answered without having been asked. All that was left to be done was to speak with the Fujiwaras. The boy reached for a slice of watermelon, absentmindedly bringing it to his mouth and chewed. Nyanko launched himself at the snacks efficiently emptying the tray.

“I should be going soon. There’s still much to prepare.” Natori placed his empty teacup back onto the tray, and stood. 

Nyanko took the tiniest break in pigging out to spare him a cursory glance, “You call yourself an exorcist yet can’t even gather information quickly?”

Natori’s eye twitched behind his glasses while Natsume called out his bodyguard’s name in admonishment. He balled his hand into a fist ready to hit Nyanko over his head, but another beat him to it. Hiiragi towered over the cat creature, the hilt of her sword still planted firmly upon his head.

“Please do not insult my master. Let us work in harmony for this case.”

Natsume still had to hold Nyanko back as he hissed, wiggled, and fussed, claiming that he was being bullied. He was swiftly ignored as Natsume gathered the empty tray in his other hand and stood up. Natsume and Natori made their way downstairs, Hiiragi behind them keeping out of the way. 

They found Touko-san and Shigeru-san in the living area on opposite ends of the low table. The two of them watching a television programme with their own tray of tea and fruit between them. When Touko saw Natsume and Natori enter the area, she muted the volume, and turned toward them.

“Oh, Natori-san, are you leaving so soon? Since you’re here already, why don’t you stay for dinner?”

Natori was slightly taken aback by the open invitation. He covered it up with one of his movie-ready smiles.

“I’m afraid that I have to decline such a wonderful offer, Fujiwara-san. I still have matters that I should attend to now.”

She sighed, her hand resting delicately along her cheek. She looked in thought, possibly thinking of ways to get the man to stay, but Shigeru spoke up.

“Is there something you boys needed then?” 

Natsume opened his mouth to speak, when he saw something shift at the corner of his eye. His glanced in the direction to see that Hiiragi had followed them. 

Natori filled the silence. “I’ll be going on a trip to Wakayama prefecture soon, up to the mountain, and if it’s possible I’d like Natsume to join me.”

Touko’s eyes lit up at the idea, while Shigeru spoke.

“That’s quite far isn’t it?”

“Oh, but a trip to the mountains sounds wonderful! Takashi-kun?” Touko called out to him as he’d been quite quiet throughout the exchange, and he turned and tuned back into the conversation at the sound of his name. 

“Ah...If it’s too much trouble, I can stay.” He was a bit flustered being caught off guard. Hiiragi’s presence still clearly weighing on his senses. His eyes darted to her once more, she looked back at him with a tilt of her masked head, before he turned back to his guardians. They were completely unfazed by the extra presence in the room because, Natsume had to remind himself, they could not see the shiki.

“As long as you’re back in time for school, Takashi. There’s no problem.” Shigeru dispelled the boy’s worries. At least partly. “What will you do in the mountains?” 

Natsume bit the inside of his lip. He didn’t know how to explain what they would do since he didn’t know what Wakayama had to offer.

“We’ll do a temple stay.” Natori offered the information without batting an eye, his smile still shining.

“I’ve done one of those some years back,” Shigeru stroked the prickly hairs of his beard, remembering the past. “It was an interesting experience. I’m sure you will enjoy it as well. You should try chanting the sutras.”

A hesitant chuckle escaped Natori unwittingly. “Thank you for the suggestions.” 

“Oh,” Shigeru continued to stroke his beard as a thought occurred to him. “How will you get there? It’s a bit far isn’t it.”

“How could I forget.” Natori smiled, looking sheepish enough to be believable. “We’ll take a plane to Osaka before transferring to the trains to get to the mountain.”

“A plane?” Natsume looked at Natori, shock brightening his eyes. He had never used such transportation, never had reason to, and never thought he would have to. “I don’t have a passport.” 

Shigeru and Touko shared a looked between themselves.

Natori looked at the boy. “You don’t need one to travel within the country, as long as you have your ID card.”

“Okay.” There was nothing more to say. Natsume didn’t know how to feel about the whole ordeal since he had nothing to compare it to.

“Oh, Takashi-kun. Your first plane ride, how exciting!” Touko gasped in her excitement, her hands clasped before her chest. When no one said anything more, she turned her attention to Natori, “And are you sure we can’t convince you to stay for dinner, Natori-san?”

“You’ve already done so much. I don’t want to impose any further.”

“Touko-san.” Shigeru called out to his wife to quell her over-enthusiastic manner. She sighed, accepting the refusal.

“Thank you for letting Natsume accompany me on this trip.”

“Oh nonsense. Thank you for inviting him.”

“Boys need to get out more, explore more beside around home.” 

Touko laughed sweetly as she looked to her husband.

Natori felt a budding of guilt in his stomach. The Fujiwaras so willingly pushed for Natsume to go out to “have fun,” when in reality, he would most likely be heading into danger.

The four said their goodbyes, and Natsume saw Natori to the door.

“You know Natsume, if you really don’t want to-” Natori spoke, the guilt momentarily getting the better of him, but Natsume ignored the statement.

“When will we head out?” 

“I’ll come back in two weeks.”

“It’s fine, I can meet you at the station.”

Natori sighed, Natsume really was stubborn. The exorcist allowed himself a small smile. He wondered if whilst not being fully related by blood and only having been with them a short while- all things considering- Natsume had acquired Touko’s stubbornness. From the times he had met the woman, he could see the similarities between the two.

When Natori involuntarily broke into a small laugh, the others around him looked at him in question but he didn’t answer it.

“Alright then Natsume, I’ll see you later.”

“Good-bye, Natsume.” Hiiragi bowed at the waist before straightening and trailing off behind her master.

Natsume stood, with Nyanko perched upon his shoulder, as he waved them off.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks had passed rather quickly with Natsume enjoying the summer break with his friends. Though, the date of departure was like a dark cloud constantly looming over him, and it was upon him before he was sure if he was ready for it.

When there were no more days to pass, the only thing that he could think of was what his first flight experience would be like. Touko buzzed around the kitchen, wrapping containers excitably. She threw out little bits of chatter to Natsume who double-checked his carry-on to ensure he had everything. 

The doorbell rang and startled him.

“Can you get the door, Takashi-kun?”

“Alright!” He called back to Touko, before hurrying toward the front door. When he opened it he saw Natori on the other side, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved tee, his usual winning smile painted on his lips. His outfit wasn’t too out of place since, while it was still August, it was the last few days and the weather had been dropping in temperature. He also took note of the bouquet of flowers cradled in his arms.

“Natori-san?”

“I hope you packed some longer sleeves than that. It will be cold in the mountains.” The older man gestured toward the boy’s short-sleeved t-shirt. Natsume let him know that he had packed adequately enough. Touko had also helped, and Shigeru had regaled some of what he had recalled from his own adventure in the mountains. 

Touko popped her head out of the kitchen at the sound of voices. Her smile brightened when she saw Natori standing in the entranceway.

“I packed some lunch boxes for your travels.” She lifted the wrapped containers further up in her arms to bring attention to them.

Natori thanked her for her kindness, holding up the flowers he held in his own hands. Touko’s eyes glittered upon taking in the sight.

“Oh my, they’re beautiful.”

They made the switch of items, Natori taking the containers off her hands while he handed the flowers over.

“The florist also mentioned that they were easily transplantable if you’d like to add them to your garden.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.” 

“I’ll take these to the car then.” Natori took Natsume’s bag without prompt and dismissed himself to load the items into the vehicle. Natsume watched him go before his attention was once again drawn to Touko when her hand gently cupped the side of his face. A gentle smile settled on her features. “I’m very happy that you’ve made such a wonderful friend in Natori-san, Takashi-kun.” 

There was no scarf or high collared shirt to duck his face behind in order to hide, but he lowered his head a bit as a flush tinted his cheeks. Touko grabbed his hand and he looked to see her press a couple of yen notes into his palm.

“Touko-san.”

“Go and have a great time.” Touko’s eyes radiated nothing but warmth and adoration. It was hard for Natsume to even think of refusing such kindness, but it also reminded him of the lie he was in the midst of weaving.

Natsume nodded at her words, and said his goodbyes. 

“I-I’ll bring back souvenirs.”

The two waved at each other before he went to meet Natori in the car.

The two spent half of the fifty minute drive in relative silence, Natsume watching the scenery pass by in a blur outside of the window.

“This silence is killing me!”

Nyanko’s voice erupted loudly from between the front seats making both Natsume and Natori jump. Natori’s hands gripped the staring wheel a little tighter. Natsume held a hand to his heart.

“Natsume,” Natori began, but Nyanko cut him off waving his stubby paws around wildly. 

“Tell us more about this case, shady exorcist!” He hit Natori a few times, catching his shoulders and head. Natori’s gaze grew darker with each hit before Natsume called his cat’s name in warning. The imitation cat huffed but stilled his movements regardless. 

“Were you able to find out anything more, Natori-san?”

“As I mentioned earlier, the mountain seems to be cursed. It could be the work of a powerful spirit.”

Nyanko huffed once more, grumbling about “useless exorcists that couldn’t gather proper information.”

Natori looked at him in the rear view mirror, his glasses glinting in the reflected sunlight. “Since you’re a kitty after all, how about we check you in with the rest of the luggage at the bottom of the plane?”

“How dare you suggest such insole?”

Natsume sighed and spoke over his bodyguard before the silly argument escalated further. 

“Do you have any idea what kind of spirit it might be?”

“From what I’ve gathered so far, there are a few options on what it could be. Until we get there and I can investigate further, the certainty of what that spirit is, as of now I can’t be certain.”

Natsume looked a bit perplexed over the information. He leaned further back into his seat and mulled over everything that was said, his own mind recalling the various spirits he had encountered- there really were a vast number of them that existed.

The rest of the car ride devolved into silence with the occasional interruption of the gps giving them directions.

When they got to the airport, Natsume’s mind reeled with the reality of him getting onto a plane. He whispered to Nyanko, reminding his bodyguard to remain still since he was meant to be a “stuffed toy.” Nyanko served his role better than expected as Natsume held him tightly within his arms when the plane had taken off into the clear blue skies. The only time he’d given his bodyguard a break was when he and Natori had eaten the lunch that Touko had prepared- though most of it had secretly gone to Nyanko since Natsume found it hard to stomach much. Natori rubbed soothing circles along Natsume’s back as the boy made use of the paper bags stuck in the seat pouches.

Colour didn’t come back to Natsume’s already pale complexion until they had switched their mode of transportation to the train system.

“Do you think they’d have souvenirs?” Natsume asked as the train rumbled softly along the tracks, his head resting against the window behind him. He absently rubbed soothing strokes along the top of Nyanko’s head- the lucky cat nodding off in a fitful doze. The question came as a bit of a surprise to Natori only because he hadn’t thought of something like that in the first place. “I told Touko-san that I would bring some back.” 

“I’m sure we can find something on our way back.” Natori tried to reassure him now knowing why he had inquired in the first place. As the train rolled further along, and crude cement buildings gave way to endless miles of lush trees, Natsume’s silence weighed heavier.

“Is something wrong, Natsume? You can tell me if something is bothering you.”

Natsume turned to look at the older man, before casting his gaze into his lap, his finger momentarily stilled upon Nyanko’s round head. The cat twitched, but didn’t wake. Natsume stayed silent another moment, giving Natori time to come to his own conclusion.

“Is it about the Fujiwaras? And this trip?”

Natsume’s shoulders slumped as if he’d been deflated, “We told them that we were going to do a temple stay, but- you said this could be dangerous-- What if something happens and it makes them worried? They don’t know what’s really happening.” He took a breath that shuddered on the inhale, and his eyes clouded over the further he got stuck in his own head.

“Natsume. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll protect you.” Natori’s words were filled with conviction- he would do everything to make those words true.

Natsume didn’t speak, didn’t do anything to show that the words had truly registered to him. Natori knew what was really bothering the boy though, it was a conversion that they’d had before.

“We can’t always be truthful. But know, Natsume, it’s to protect the ones we care about.” 

“I know,” The boy’s words were as delicate as the trees swaying in the gentle wind, “But how long will I have to keep lying to them…” The words were a trigger Natsume accidentally pulled against himself at times- words that sent him into a spiral of the past. He could recall with unwanted clarity those who called him as such. 

_ Liar. _

Natsume could see their faces screwed up in disgust and anger over his lies- lies of things he claimed to see that they couldn’t. 

_ Liar. _

Lies they claimed were his unjust cries of attention.

_ Liar! _

Natori rest a hand on Natsume’s hand making him jump, but the fog cleared from within his soft golden eyes as he looked toward his companion. 

“I don’t think that Natsume is a liar.” Natori chuckled, the sound tinted in self-deprecation. “Sometimes people don’t know what they ask for. What if one day others saw what we could see?” He looked around the train car, there weren’t that many people present- they had an entire bench for themselves. Natsume’s gaze followed Natori’s, “What would they say then? They would only find new reasons to blame you then.”

Natsume turned to look back at the exorcist and saw a dark cloud gather in his eyes. He caught himself staring longer than he should, not for the first time wondering about the events that took place in Natori’s past that shaped his present. 

The man felt Natsume’s gaze and looked toward him. Natori schooled his features into his fail-safe smile, and Natsume frowned. “I’m sorry, Natsume. Try not to think too deeply about the matter. You’re doing the best you can and I’m sure the Fujiwaras would think so as well.”

_ The next stop is God’s Valley Station. The exit will be on the right. There is a gap between the train and the platform. Please mind your step. _

“Alright then. This is our stop.” Natori stood during the announcement before the train made a complete stop, effectively cutting Natsume’s chance at any questioning short.

When they got off the train and covered a bit of ground, Natsume looked back and gasped. There was a large mountain looming in the distance but it would be hard to know it was there without prior knowledge- a thick, dense fog covered it from all wandering eyes.

“That’s High Field Mountain.” Natsume’s voice was filled with both wonder, and apprehension. 

“Yes, that’s where we’ll be staying.”

“I’d not recommend that.” A voice called out to them, getting clearer with each word. They turned to the sound to see a man in loose clothing, his pants rolled up above his shins, a wide hat covering his face from the sun, and a towel wrapped around his shoulders.

“Is there a reason you’d advise against it?”

“I hope you’re not one’s them thrill seekers lookin’ fer their next scoop. Leave that mountain alone, nuthin’ good’ll come from it otherwise.”

Natsume looked between the two, sharing a look with Nyanko in his arms before giving the mountain behind them another glance. As the conversation continued, more people seemed to gather around to see what the fuss was about.

“You’re going up into the mountains?” A girl, probably a few years younger than Natsume, sounded excited over the idea.

The ones who gathered seem to share something between two emotions- excitement and apprehension, with a few showing some worry.

“Karen. Father. Is that any way to treat guests?” Everyone turned to see a woman with a kind smile; it set Natsume’s heart at ease. The woman turned to address both Natsume and Natori, “I apologise for the behaviour of my father and child. We don’t get much visitors in these parts, and when we do, it’s usually from monks or clergymen or the sort.”

Natori bowed to the woman. “I’m afraid I’m no different.” He smiled at her but the information only seemed to sadden her.

“You don’t look like no clergyman.” The woman’s father spoke with nothing short of disbelief. No one else voiced their thoughts but their faces showed that they were also skeptical over the information.

“I’m an exorcist.”

The father scoffed, but he didn’t get to say much more before his daughter shushed him.

“You’re quite young. Why don’t you stop by for some tea. I can tell you what I know, if you wish.”

Natori thanked her for her kindness, as she shooed the other villagers back to their own business, and followed behind her. It would be useful to get information from the people closest to the issue while not exactly being involved. Or so he thought.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Natsume looked out the side window of the cable car as it ascended further into the fog. The sides, front, and back all showed the same image-- fog so thick that shapes were indiscernible within it. Nyanko was perched on his shoulder, golden eyes squinting to see if his spirit eyes would prove better. It didn’t. Natsume sighed at the situation. He turned his head, eyes scanning the back corner of the cable car where he spotted Natori standing, looking out another window. The man looked lost in thought, perhaps thinking of the information he had gathered before coming to the prefecture, or perhaps it was what he found after. Natsume himself could not help but recall the tale from the villagers below the mountain.

_ “The mountain has been covered in mist for decades. Ever since I was a child, I could recall the dense fog hanging over it like a cluster of ghosts, haunting and hiding the secrets hidden within. But the stories don’t stop there. They continue even before then. Generation after generation. There is no single story that proves true. They all weave together to tell the greater story. The curse of High Field Mountain.” _

The cable car suddenly jerked signalling the end of their ride to the mountain. An automatic message buzzed through the intercom almost completely unrecognisable in its distortion. A chill ran the length of Natsume’s sides as the door clicked and slid open. Natori climbed the short staircase at the bottom of the car to the door and stepped out into the night. He tried to move forward but the tip of his shoe bumped into something.

“Watch your step, Natsume. There’s a staircase right outside, and it seems steep.” Natsume followed closely behind him.

Natori seemed to grab hold of something to the side- a railing- and his strides grew more steady. Natsume followed his actions. They made progress up the stairs, but with thick clouds of gray and black beyond that- it seemed never-ending. Natsume’s legs grew tired from the ascent when his hand suddenly collided with something; it was thin, almost like strong wire as it shook but did not burst. Natsume drew his hand away quickly, shaking it to make sure nothing remained on his skin. His next step was miscalculated and his body leaned back ready to plunge into oblivion.

_ “What kind of curse?” The boy grew in anticipation, wanting to know about the tale that was so rooted in the village’s past and still connected to its present. _

_ “One story I remember vividly is one of war. Or maybe...it’s easier to accept--the site of a tragic battle that robbed the lives of many- both soldier and common villager alike. War doesn’t care what your status is in life.” _

Natori quickly grabbed him around the waist- the man’s hand gripping the rails in a white-knuckled fist to ensure they both didn’t go prematurely plummeting to their deaths. 

“Natsume! Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, I’m fine. Something touched my hand-” The boy cut his words short, not wanting to appear freaked out by the incident. Natori only let him go when they were both firmly standing on their own two feet. 

Natori felt something crawling along his hand, using his other to brush it away. He could also feel the threads that seemed to entangle further every time he moved his hand. “It’s just a spider. With the fog so thick, I’m sure no one does regular maintenance. Be careful.”

Natsume nodded, and resumed his steps. Natori moving behind him for added precaution, but there was no more need for worry as the two both made stumbling steps to even ground at the top.

High above the flat land below, the mountain air was chilly despite the trailing ends of summer. Natsume pulled at his shirt sleeves, tugging them as far as they would go before crossing his arms in front of his chest- the days would probably grow colder as time passed. He allowed himself a small thanks to Touko for making sure he had packed long-sleeved clothes, and one jacket for added measure.

_ “Why don’t you stay the night? Not only is the fog still so dense, but combined with darkness, it would be too perilous.” _

_ “We couldn’t possibly impose. And if the night can give us answers as well, it would be best to leave now. But thank you for the offer, and the information.” _

_ The exorcist gave his charming smile, but the woman only continued to look saddened as if she were sending someone off to war knowing there would be no chance of their return. _

Natori, Natsume, and Nyanko’s heads darted cautiously around, taking in their surroundings. The fog was less dense in the open air but the darkness of night still left their sight hindered. 

“I hope it’s a lot better in the morning. All this fog isn’t going to make things easier.” Natori fanned his hand before his eyes before holding it out at length seeing it vanish into nothingness. 

“Useless exorcist!” Nyanko chirped close to his ear. Natori’s eye twitched as he turned sideways to take in what he could of the fat cat now perched upon his shoulders- Nyanko’s eyes glowing a luminescent and eerie golden. “Do you sense anything?”

Natori surveyed the area once more, his eyes furrowed in concentration. “I don’t. Nothing too strong at least.”

Nyanko nodded slowly at his words, confirming his thoughts- how could a mountain so cursed and steeped in bad energy barely give out a presence?

“Can you do something by transforming?”

“Ha! You doubt me?” Nyanko jumped and spun off of Natori’s shoulder blending in with the fog as his cat form disappeared into a puff of smoke. He reappeared not even a second later in his true form- even the large magnificent form barely noticeable in the fog. Madara’s large golden eyes narrowed as the swirled, magical sigil upon his forehead glowed a brilliant blue. The fog cleared like a door bursting open. The same door closed just as quickly as the fog once more filled the empty air.

Natsume walked up to their side, his eyes narrowed, unamused. “Natori-san, we should light the lanterns.”

“You’re right. We shouldn’t waste more time out in the open like this.” Natori dug around in his pockets to find the matches they were given by the villagers while Natsume retrieved the lamps from the duffle bag slung across his chest.

Nyanko huffed before his giant body disappeared in favour of the chubby lucky-cat mold.

_ “There’s more isn’t there?” The exorcist asked lightly as they were led back to the station in order to make their way up the mountain.  _

_ “There are...many other stories. Stories that aren’t as believable as fallen soldiers. There’s a tale our parents told us to keep us from staying out too late at night. The tale of the crippled wheel.  _

_ A woman, hell’s servant, attached to a wheel of fire. She rode around the village, and all those who saw her brought sickness and death to their homes. Ones that spoke about seeing her brought the same thing. And after all the sightings, all the gossip- one day, the entire village was gone.  _

_ That is the kind of stories you hear about the mountain...if anyone talks about it at all.”  _

Natsume and Natori each held a lit lantern in front of them, Nyanko once again perched upon the exorcist’s shoulder. With the light, they no longer had to strain their eyes in the stark darkness. There were trees on both sides of their walk, each shadow looked more human than the last. Natsume tried to stay as close to the other two as he could but his wandering gaze made him fall behind more often than not.

He had heard Natori’s and Nyanko’s whispered words earlier, about the lack of presence that the mountain held. It was more than that though- not only did the spirits seem unusually quiet, there were no noises of nature either. Natsume wondered if the mountain creatures had fled because of the fog, or if they lived somewhere else on the mountain. 

As he continued to glance at the shadow trees in the distance, an uneasy feeling that they were growing closer swept over him. And that was when he heard it, little chirrups that sounded like thousands and thousands of insects singing in cacophony. As they went on, the sound got louder, grew shriller. 

Natsume’s lantern slipped from his grip and landed on the floor with a soft thud as his hands flew to his ears in a trivial attempt to block out the noise. 

“...me?”

The noises were too loud, they slipped between Natsume’s fingers to sing shrilly in his ears.

“...tsume.”

The world grew dark as his eyes screwed shut.

“Natsume!”

Something brushed against him, soft like features before he was yanked forward. He opened his eyes and saw that all around him the darkness swirled erratically. A few seconds passed before his eyes and brain caught up and he could tell that the shadows were a swarm of black sparrows flying in tight circles around them. He was standing directly behind Natori now, much closer than they had been when he was trying to drown the song out. Even amidst the birds, he could hear the ghastly cry as they flew closer and closer.

Natori yanked a paper seal from within his pockets, and held it in front of his face. He closed his eyes and weaved words to craft a chant beneath his breath, every word growing louder in volume. When he got to the third repetition, his voice rose to a yell. The birds all opened their beaks one last time- causing Natsume to flinch- as they spread their wings wider and disbursed, melting back into distant shadows.

Natori turned to Natsume, concern would have been fully visible in his eyes if they could see clearly, “Are you all right, Natsume?”

It took a moment before Natsume could speak, the ringing in his ear fading to a phantom memory. He slowly lowered his hands from his ears, and the effect was jarring. All was once again silent- the road was even quieter with the distant memory of sound.

“I’m okay. Didn’t that noise bother you, Natori-san?”

At that moment, Nyanko shivered, “There wasn’t any sound. Just those creepy birds flying up and down, and opening their beaks in silence.” He shivered again for added effect. 

Natsume looked at Natori to see if the man agreed. He nodded, and Natsume frowned- he had definitely heard the noise, even if he could barely remember the way it sounded at the moment. The experience still lingered on the edge of his mind.

“Let’s find somewhere to rest.”

Natori barely allowed room for an answer as he resumed walking, his pace much faster and urgent than before.

_ “It must be hard to live in conditions like that for the people who live there now.”  _

_ The woman’s face grew sullen at the exorcist's words, but she hid it quickly enough to where it was noticeable, but where there was no time to dwell on it and inquire. _

_ “It must be.” _

_ “What happened to all the people who passed away?” The boy’s curiosity grew with every tale along with a gnawing sadness. _

_ The woman’s face twisted into the same expression once more. Her next words woven carefully, as if she were concerned about saying something wrong. _

Time was something that was hard to keep track of in the dark, in the fog. The trio didn’t know how long they had been walking before Natsume spoke, saying that he thought he saw something in the distance. When they walked toward it they saw that it was a lantern hung on the roof of a building.

“Oh my, it’s quite late to be travelling in these parts. Especially such lovely looking me-people.” 

At the sudden voice, Natsume jumped and yelled in surprise. Both him and Natori whipped around to face the voice that came from behind them. A woman, very advanced in age, stood there and watched them through the light of a lantern she held. “I’m sorry to have startled you. Oh dear!”

“Please, there’s no need to apologise,” Natori spoke to ease the tension that had built inside him. “We’re just a bit tired from our travels.”

“Why don’t you stay here?” The woman gestured to the building with the lantern that Natsume had first pointed out. “It’s a bit run down but there’s room available.”

Natori looked back at his companions. They had been travelling all day, so being weary wasn’t exactly a lie. Also, with what had taken place near the entrance of the mountain, he would prefer them indoors to think of their next move rather than wander aimlessly in the darkness any longer.

“It sounds like a good idea.” Natsume walked over to Natori’s side before he turned to the old woman, and bowed. “Thank you for letting us stay.”

The woman’s eyes seemed to lock on him then. “No no, thank you for the company. Why don’t you stay as long as you need.”   
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Morning came to High Field Mountain like a somber gathering for funeral rites. The sun’s rays fought their way through both clouds and fog, and in the end lost, leaving the day gray and dreary.

Natori got up from the tattered futon they were given to sleep on. He looked back to see Natsume still sound asleep, Nyanko resting near the boy’s head with a little snot bubble inflating and deflating on every breath. 

Natori walked toward the windows to see the village in what little light the day had to offer. The view was much clearer than it had been the previous night, at least it seemed one could see further than just the hand held in front of their face. He pulled his night  _ yukata _ closer to his body- the day just as chilly as the night. 

The previous night, Natori had placed several incantation charms around the room. Natsume had inquired about them, never fully understanding Natori’s apprehension about matters. Natori had only told him that it was a precaution after the sudden incident with the swarm of birds. They didn’t understand the full situation of the mountain, so it was better to be safe. Natsume seemed to have accepted the explanation before drifting off to sleep. 

The exorcist plucked a paper from his sleeves and watched it erupt in sacred blue flames. All the papers were connected: the charms were all linked to the single sheet held between his fingers that crumbled to ashes and disappeared into nothingness. He had made the right decision to protect the room.

Natori picked up the eyeglasses that he had left on the small table in the room, perching them upon his face. He walked toward the door next, where one of the charms had been disturbed but had held up like it should. He spared one last glance to Natsume’s sleeping figure before exiting the area.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Natsume’s eyes fluttered open. 

“What do you think he went to do?” Natsume asked in a sleep tinted voice, sitting up on his own futon. Nyanko stretched his rotund body and wiggled his paws, yawning absurdly.

“Better be to bring food. Food, food, Natsume! He brought us out here to starve!” The cat poked at Natsume’s legs before pointing at his stomach as if it was supposed to clearly show that he was indeed starving. 

Natsume sighed at his bodyguard’s antics, “Well, maybe you could lose a little weight,  _ sensei. _ ”

“What did you say?” Nyanko looked toward him with an accusing glare. 

“Nothing. Nothing.” Natsume finally stood in search of his bag to rummage through its contents. “We got some food from the village, but you can’t have it all _ . _ ” 

Natsume held out a piece of fried fish which Nyanko snatched and ate with gusto. 

While Nyanko was eating, the door opened and Natori walked in. Natsume looked up at the man, "Where did you go?"

Natori gave a small smile, “I was just taking a look around. Why don’t we go out to the village?”

Natsume looked at him for a long moment, wondering if there was more to his words, but there were other things to focus on. They needed to check around the village, and Natsume was curious to know what they would find, so he didn’t question things any further. He nodded, “Alright.”

They both got ready, dressed and had something to eat. Outside the fog was not as dense as it had been before, or rather, the absence of darkness took away some of the disadvantages. 

The village looked beautiful; there was a quiet, haunting beauty in the way the buildings stood slightly run down with a backdrop of fog hanging everywhere. Natsume’s head swivelled from left to right with every new street that they crossed, with every new block telling a story of the village. 

Natori seemed to know what he was looking for, head barely turning to take anything in. In fact, when Natsume walked a bit quicker to fall in step, he saw the look of contemplation upon the exorcist's face. 

As he stared in the direction, a movement inside a building caught his eye. Natsume gasped, catching both Nyanko’s and Natori’s attention as they both looked to see what the issue was. The face of an old man stared back at them with shallow, unblinking eyes, and pierced them with its gaze before fading into the darkness of the shop, followed closely by the eyes.

Once the initial surprise wore off, Natori approached the door and knocked. His knuckles rapped against the door, the surface shuddering dangerously with each touch, but no one answered. The man’s face no longer emerged and upon listening closely, there was no sound that came from within.

“Maybe we scared him?” Natsume suggested, his eyes squinting into the darkness that even the morning light refused to touch.

Natori rested his fingers on his chin in thought, “It seems they’re not used to having people around.”

“Where’re the others?” Nyanko sniffed, his eyes looking around more intensely.

The question resonated with the two human males; they had been walking along the streets for some time, but aside from the brief glance at the old man’s face, they had not seen anyone else. Natsume also recalled that he had not seen the old woman who had offered them a place to stay since the previous night. 

“Sasago, Urihime, Hiiragi.” Natori’s voice rang out into the silence, and soon after the shiki’s appeared one after the next according to their names. Natsume watched the exchange, curious to know what they were being summoned for and because he had not seen the first two in some time. The shiki’s stood by ready for any command, and their master did not disappoint. “I want you to search the perimeters of the village, report back if you find anything suspicious- human or otherwise.”

“Yes!” The first two shiki answered respectfully, before Hiiragi spoke up with her own inquiries. “Master, is it wise to separate?” 

“We don’t know how big this village actually is. This way, we can all cover more ground individually.” 

Sasago’s covered eyes did not move from the face of her master as she spoke up, “Is that dumb looking pig cat capable of protecting anyone?”

A beat of silence passed as the aforementioned “pig cat” looked around in confusion. “Who are you calling a pig cat you ugly horned ram!” 

Natori intervened before his shiki could lunge at Natsume’s guard, “You’re wasting time.”

Without anything more needing to be said Urihime bowed and disappeared first. Sasago’s head turned to the fat lump of Nyanko’s form perched in Natsume’s arms and gave an indignant scoff before she too bowed and vanished. 

Hiiragi looked hesitant to go, only because she always lingered longer than the others, but soon she too took her leave. 

“Natsume.” The boy looked toward Natori at the mention of his name. “Will you be alright on your own?”

Nyanko waved his paws frantically, his round face pinched in annoyance, “What am I? Chopped liver?!” His voice became high in his frustration. 

Natori only chuckled at his dilemma for a moment before once more getting serious. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “This acts as an alert spell. It will let me know if anything happens. It acts as a protection spell as well.”

Nyanko scoffed audibly, still turned off by Natori’s overprotection and what it implied indirectly about Nyanko’s abilities. Natsume took the paper, putting it into his own pocket, “You be careful too, Natori-san.”

The older man gave him a small reassuring smile before the two parted ways. Natsume wondered what he would find, what kind of clues would help them better figure out what was happening in the mountain. So far, there was not much aside from the mountain being eternally covered in fog.

“ _ Sensei _ ,” Natsume sighed, his eyes looking up to the sky, “Maybe you can walk for a bit? You’re heavy.” 

Nyanko huffed from his place upon Natsume’s head, “Hmph, if I walk you’ll just get lost and wander off somewhere, and how will I protect you then, huh?”

Natsume sighed at his bodyguard’s words. It was more likely that the cat creature would be the one to get lost or wander off. But a lot more was visible in the morning light, so as long as they stuck close they would not have to worry about that. However, Natsume gave up as Nyanko only seemed to get more comfortable.

“And I can see everything from up here. This is the best place for protection.” Nyanko’s hands patted Natsume’s head twice as he settled further. 

Natsume mumbled to himself, “Protection for who? My neck is going to kill me later.”

The two wandered around the fog aimlessly, Natsume trying to look into any buildings they passed to see if there was anyone inside. He felt a tickle at his neck, but ignored it. The feeling happened two more times before he swatted at the area. 

“ _ Sensei _ , your fur is tickling my neck. Stay still.” He got a light smack at the back of his head in response. 

In the next moment he felt a sharp tug at his hair, and grit his teeth in pain. “ _ Sensei _ !” Natsume plucked the cat from his head, feeling intense relief as the weight left his neck, and all but dropped Nyanko onto the ground. The pair squabbled over the incident with Natsume accusing the cat of harassing him while Nyanko defending that the boy was unjustly picking on him.

When Natsume felt a rough tug at the back of his shirt he pointed an accusing finger at his cat companion. “See! You keep doing  _ that, sensei!”  _ At the end of his sentence he paused for a moment, his eyes locked on Nyanko’s widened in realisation mirroring Nyanko’s as well. The two turned quickly to see what was there. 

Nothing. 

A sigh of relief escaped them. The fog had started to mess with their minds after seeing nothing but the gray clouds in every direction that they looked. 

Natsume turned back around to continue on his way, but met a giant singular eye- framed by long wispy waves of black hair staring back at him. A scream ripped from his throat and his reflexes kicked in as he pulled his arm back, his hand curled into a tight fist. The entity before them had no time to react before Natsume’s fist connected squarely in the centre of its eye, the pupil like a target that he hit on a bullseye. 

The spirit reeled in pain and tried to flee, but Nyanko transformed into his true form and pounced, trapping the spirit beneath one of his giant paws. 

“Keep squirming and I’ll use your hair as floss after I devour the rest of you!”

The spirit squeaked before pleading for its life. Natsume had seen Madara make numerous spirits afraid, but there was something different about the spirit before them now. The amount of fear that resonated off of the spirit was unnerving. 

“Please don’t take my soul! I’ll do better. Spare me!” 

Natsume’s brows furrowed. Madara leaned forward, his already impressive form looking even more imposing. The spirit looked on the verge of fainting, and Natsume despite himself felt concern. 

“ _ Sensei _ , you don’t have to do that.”

“This coward will escape if I even twitch.” 

Natsume walked closer to the two and knelt down beside the spirit, “We just want to talk.  _ Sensei _ won’t actually hurt you.” Madara in turn snorted, hot air escaped his nostrils making the fog around them swirl into ghastly apparitions before collecting once more into one opaque mass. Natsume buried a hand into Madara’s soft white fur, absently petting his side. The great spirit returned to Nyanko’s smaller form and all but purred as he leaned into Natsume’s touch. But the moment his weight was off of the spirit, it gathered some of its wits and took off, using the fog as a veil to aid in its escape.

Natsume lowered his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes to cover his expression. Nyanko sent him a cutting side-eye, as Natsume tried his best to ignore it. After a moment, his expression changed- his eyebrows pinched together, and his lips pulled to a slight frown.

“What did he mean by ‘don’t take my soul’?''


	6. Chapter 6

“Hiiragi.” The horn-masked shiki turned to the other who’s eyes were covered in bandages. Sasago had followed her after they had all left Natori’s side, waiting to have a word. “You should follow after master. There is something off about this place.” 

Hiiragi did not argue over the other shiki’s words as she’d had the same thoughts over the matter. Now that another had given the same order and validated her thoughts, she would do just that. She gave a sound of affirmation, and disappeared.

\--

Natori walked through the fog, his steps measured and sure. Somewhere behind him he heard footsteps that were near perfect reflections of his own. 

He stopped. 

So did they. 

The exorcist’s eyes shifted to the side; he could see outlines of buildings and other things close by, but whatever had decided to follow him was far enough to be unrecognizable. He resumed his walk, and soon enough heard the one behind him do so as well.

He made one more glance to the buildings in the distance, and took off at a run. With his quickened steps it was easy to distinguish the steps of the one chasing behind him, theirs seeming more frantic in an effort to catch up.

Natori ducked behind a building and stood still. As expected, his pursuer soon rounded the corner as well.

“Why are you following me?” He folded his arms across his chest and looked up at the horned-mask adorned with a large round eye. “Hiiragi.”

“It can become dangerous within the fog. We don’t know what is behind the incidents on the mountain.” Hiiragi’s voice didn’t betray the fact that she had been running after someone and had gotten caught doing so. Her tone was factual and even.

“That’s why I wanted you all to search the area,” Natori sighed. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if he owned shiki or if they were his babysitters.

“Sasago and Urihime will search. Natsume has the pig cat. You should not wander alone, master.”

Natori sighed again. His shiki seemed to have made up her mind, so there was no use in arguing. The only thing he was surprised over was the fact that she had left his side in the first place. “We will check the cemetery then. There’s something I’m curious in finding out.”

“The inner sanctuary.”

“As the name would suggest, it seems to be the heart of the mountain.” Natori turned and began walking at a normal pace, Hiiragi close at his side. “There must be some sort of clue there as to why the mountain is the way it is now.” 

When Natori, Natsume, and Nyanko had still been in the village below the mountain, the woman had given them a lot of useful information about the mountain itself, some of the information they may not have been able to gather from anywhere else. One thing that had stood out to Natori was the slight hesitance that seemed to constantly be present whenever she spoke about events that occured. But when she spoke about that grave that sat upon the mountain, that hesitance seemed to take on an edge of guilt. Natori didn’t understand why. Any of the disasters that would have taken place would have been way before the woman had even been born; at the very least, she would have been a child. 

_ “We call it ‘the inner sanctuary.’ If you truly are here to do anything, you should start there.” The look of guilt caused her to cast her gaze somewhere else. The situation was much harder to speak of than she thought it would be.  _

_ “Mommy?” Her daughter wandered after her possibly concerned as to why she had taken so long to return.  _

_ The exorcist had more questions he wanted answered, but with the new arrival, it seemed that there would be nothing more to say. The woman’s face shut down, physically putting an end to the topic. Her face was still kindly, and she still showed concern for the exorcist and his companions traveling into the mountain hidden in fog, but she bid her farewell and let them be on their way.  _

Natori and Hiiragi paused a moment; in front of them a small bridge crossed over into a clearing surrounded by trees.

Natori grabbed a few paper charms from within his pocket- the air around the area felt vile. It was hard to sense much throughout the village, but the inner sanctuary made up for it. He crossed the bridge with his shiki right behind him. 

There was a sort of ghastly beauty to the place. Trees dating back centuries shot up into the sky losing their tops to the fog, and it gave the illusion that they could go on forever. The pathway was paved in cobblestones and each brick looked as if it had been set in place carefully. Stone lanterns sat to the sides. Natori noticed that there were faint lights lit within the lanterns. At night they would be bright enough to guide the way through the darkness. 

Once the two stepped into the actual area of the cemetery, the path split into two paths- one leading higher up, while the other would take them straight along on the level they already stood. After trying to assess which pathway would yield greater discoveries, Natori set off on the path that led straight ahead.

There were several small graves erected for those that died. As they walked further, the graves increased in number and Natori grew truly aware of just how many people had passed away across all the generations.

The further they walked, the fog became denser. Eventually, the road split again, one path to the right and one to the left. He continued along on a straight path. There was no real thought in picking where to go but there was a feeling somewhere inside that told him that everything would lead to the same place. 

When they got to the end of the path, the fog was much denser than anywhere else. But little flecks of a reddish-orange glow shone through. It was reminiscent of the glow of the lantern that had first led Natsume to the temple they were now staying for the duration of their trip, so Natori moved forward hoping there was a building beyond the glow in front of him as well.

As he got closer, the glow grew stronger. Even more lights shone through, their glow eerie, beckoning one to the gates of hell.

The doorway of the building stood open, and Natori pushed forward to step inside. The closer he had gotten to the building and the deeper he had moved into the fog, a pressure settled over him. His breaths grew shallow as he stepped over the threshold. Hiiragi was glued to his side, watchful.

There were walls that divided the interior of the building into small hallways, every one of those walls held floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with lanterns. The lanterns were designed with holds within their surfaces, and the orange light poured out casting the inside of the building in the same orange glow. 

“Master.” Hiiragi held out her arm, not exactly touching, but hovering over his person. Natori bent forward, a hand on his chest; it was getting harder to breathe the longer he stayed in the building. Instead of retreating, he continued in his steps in order to peer inside the lanterns. The light inside flickered and wavered as if it was shivering, in cold or  _ fear. _

“This is…” 

Natori’s words naturally cut themselves short as he stared at the sight before him. His body urged for him to lean against something to keep his balance, and hopefully alleviate some of the stress that standing caused. But he didn’t when the only things available were the lanterns.

Hiiragi stepped closer and grabbed hold of the arm that was not held against his chest. She supported him as best she could and leapt from the building, her feet barely touching the floor as she would take off once more bounding through the foggy cemetery. Natori looked back to see the lights all shimmer, their orange glows fading to pinpricks before being swallowed up by the fog. The graves all blurred passed behind them as they made their way back to the entrance. 

Hiiragi did not let go of Natori until they crossed the bridge firmly placing them outside of the cemetery. “Master.”

Natori found that his breath soon came naturally to him once more, air flowing easily through his lungs. He straightened his posture. 

“Let’s find Natsume and head back to the temple.”

__

It turned out that Natsume had already found his way back to their accommodation along with his cat bodyguard. The boy seemed anxious when Natori appeared.

They both had found things in their respective searches, and sat door at the low table in their shared room to discuss. 

“Natori-san.” Natsume called the man’s name unable to keep what he knew to himself any longer. It wasn’t much, but he thought that it would give some insight into the mystery of the mountain. 

“What is it, Natsume?”

The boy’s face screwed into one of thought, the image of the spirit’s frightened face still etched freshly in mind; he could still feel the uneasy waves of fear that rolled off of the spirit’s body as it pled to them. Or rather, as it pled to something they could not see.

“ _ Sensei _ and I, we met a spirit in the village.” Nyanko scoffed at the choice of wording, while Natori grew more alert.

“Are you alright?”

Natsume gave a tight, conflicted smile and nodded his head, “I’m okay, but I’m not sure the spirit was.”

Natori barely restrained himself from a sigh. “Natsume…” The boy had the strangest urge to help spirits at any given moment regardless of if they wanted something from him or not. Whether they were dangerous or not.

Natsume disregarded Natori’s tone and continued, “He was afraid of something. I’ve never seen a spirit that afraid before. He thought  _ sensei _ would take his soul.”

At his last few words, Natori’s eyes widened slightly, his posture more alert to Natsume’s information. “What did it say exactly?”

_ “Please don’t take my soul! I’ll do better. Spare me!”  _

Natsume sat in thought, recalling the words the spirit had uttered before relaying them to Natori. The exorcist let them sink in, his hand resting on his chin as he processed everything. He looked troubled.

“Did you find anything, Natori-san?” 

Natori’s eyes met Natsume’s, “Nothing.”

Hiiragi looked to her master, but did not say anything or contradict his words.

“I found the cemetery that was mentioned, but there was nothing there.”

“There must be something else that we haven’t found yet,” Natsume frowned. “With all this fog it’s hard to find things.”

The boy looked toward the exorcist, his expression questioning when he felt the warm hand rest upon his head.

“We’ll find out what’s happening to the village, Natsume. Let’s search together tomorrow.”

“...Okay.”

Natori removed his hand from Natsume’s head and stood up. “Let’s get ready for bed then.” Natsume watched as Natori reinforced the wards around the room, but he did not comment about them, leaving the man to do as he pleased. Instead, Natsume looked out the window into the fading light. During the course of the day, the sky had looked to be set in a perpetual late afternoon. But now, as even the hidden sun’s light faded, darkness lay over the town like a thick blanket. 

Natsume looked from the window to the futons to see Natori settling beneath the covers and Nyanko bounded over to roll unto Natsume’s bedding. 

The boy got up from his position at the table, blowing out the lights, and walked over to his futon before settling in as well. Soon, his consciousness went as dark as the room and the outside as he drifted off to sleep.

__

Natsume’s eyes shot open and bolted up from his futon. The covers slipped down his shoulders, falling to his waist. He was caught in a momentary daze not knowing where he was, trapped in darkness, before his eyes adjusted and he could make out the room that they were staying in. Beside him, Natori and Nyanko remained peaceful in their sleep.

He questioned why he was startled awake before he heard a slow roll that quickly peaked at deafening. His body jerked and shivered at the sound of thunder. A small gasp escaped him before he drew his knees up and hugged them tightly to his chest. He buried his head as far as he could in the space between his knees, and the sound still scared him. 

“...Natsume…” 

Natori’s sleep filled voice called out to the boy who gave no reaction. The futon blankets rustled as Natori sat up. He placed a hand on Natsume’s arm and the boy jumped, looking toward Natori with wide, frightened eyes. 

The remnants of sleep quickly disappeared as they were replaced with Natori’s concern. “Natsume, what’s wrong?” 

“...T-the th-thunder.”

Natori’s brows furrowed in confusion. He looked toward the window as if it would better help him understand, but it didn’t. There was no sound of rain, no bright flashes of white across the sky, no deep bass claps echoing through the night. He wondered if it had been a nightmare instead, although Natsume seemed completely spooked for it to be only imagination.

Natori sighed, gathering the boy into his arms. He held him there for a long moment, until Natsume’s body stopped shaking. Until his heart stopped racing. 

Natsume’s senses slowly came back to him as his episode passed. With that, a clarity washed over him. He knew the sound of thunder well because he feared it. But the more he thought on what he had just heard, he realised that it was not thunder at all. 

It was a deep reverberating sound of rattling and clattering bones….


	7. Chapter 7

The following day, just as Natori had said, the small group set off to explore the village together. Hiiragi also joined them. Natsume had seen the exorcist speak with his other two shiki, but they had soon disappeared again.

The small group revisited the shop where they had seen the man on their second day. But like that day, no one answered when they knocked on the door, and they could not see anything when they peered inside.

“Perhaps they’re a bit cautious since it’s so hard to see inside this fog.” Natori walked on ahead of the group, Natsume trailing behind with Nyanko in his arms. 

“Natori-san, why do you think that spirit was worried  _ sensei _ would take his soul, or-?” 

“There are spirits who prey on others in that way, though they are few. Perhaps he thought the pig cat was one of those spirits.”

“...I see.” Natsume looked down as Nyanko looked up to meet his gaze. Was it really just a fear of Nyanko-sensei? Natsume was not one hundred percent convinced over the matter. There were things that didn’t make sense when he thought them over. 

“Natori-san, about last night…”

Natori kept walking but turned his head to acknowledge the boy. Natsume did not continue. He saw something move on the edge of his peripheral and stopped to see if he could see it any better. In the silence, Natori stopped as well. This time, he turned to face Natsume fully. But Natsume’s gaze was still somewhere in the distance. 

“Do you see something?”

“Huh? No.” Nothing moved in the distance so Natsume thought that maybe he had been imagining it. 

After reassuring that everything was, in fact, okay, they all once again began moving. 

“Oh, hey!” Natsume’s voice rang out in the silence alerting the others. Natori and Hiiragi turned and looked where Natsume had stared off to but they saw nothing. The exorcist was about to ask if the boy was truly okay, but Natsume placed his chubby cat on the floor and took off into the fog on his own. 

“Natsume!” Natori called after him and broke into a run himself. Hiiragi pulled ahead, Natori nodding at her in approval. Nyanko ran as fast as his stub legs would take him.

___

Natsume’s breathe expelled in shallow puffs the longer he ran. It was not his imagination; he had seen something in the fog. Something, or some _ one. _ And whatever it was, it had been following them for some time. Perhaps it would give them another piece they needed to solve the puzzle of High Field Mountain.

His sprint took him to the outskirts of the village- he crossed a short bridge and was immediately swallowed up on all sides by trees that stretched to touch the sky.

Natsume gasped upon taking in his new surroundings. The cobbled pathway was solid beneath his feet, but he felt light and dizzy seeing all the small stones scattered around the area as markers for people who had passed away. He knew it must have been the case if all the stories they were told was true. Generation after generation, many people who lived in the village upon the mountain had been plagued by curse and disasters. Even now, according to rumours, people who came with the intention of helping were never heard from again. There would need to be a place to keep that many ashes, and remains. But the thought still made Natsume’s heart clench within his chest. 

Before he could dwell on it even longer, he saw something move up ahead. 

“Wait!” He called out and gave chase once more. He wondered if it was another spirit, and the thought that maybe it was playing a trick on him crossed his mind. But he had to know for sure, had to try to speak with them. What if they were also afraid of something trying to take their soul? Natsume wanted to listen so that maybe he could help.

The figure darted off to the right and Natsume followed. The new path led him up stone steps, the steps not as neatly lined as the ones on the previous path. Some were raised out of the soil while some spots did not have any at all. 

At the top, Natsume came into a clearing. There were no grave markers, and the trees were sparse. His eyes surveyed the area and widened when he saw the figure in front of him. A girl around his age stood a few feet away. She wore a plain, tattered kimono; the colour of her hair was indiscernible in the lighting, but he could tell that it was a dark shade as it fell to her waist in thick but messy waves. 

“Hello? Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.”

When he took a step forward, the girl took one back. In that moment he saw the swirl of the fog and noticed she was standing very close to the edge of a hill or a cliff. Natsume’s eyes widened, “Be careful!” But his words fell on deaf ears. The girl turned around and threw herself over the edge. 

Natsume cried out, his feet taking him to her before he could even think about it. He dropped to his knees and peered over the edge but could not see the bottom. The fog had swallowed her whole. 

“Natsume.” The boy gasped and turned to see Hiiragi beside him. Natori and Nyanko burst through the clearing soon after. 

Tears welled up in Natsume’s eyes as a feeling of helplessness washed over him. 

“Hiiragi. Check the bottom of the cliff.” Natori ordered as he walked to Natsume’s side. His shiki nodded and vanished, the sudden disappearance making Natsume startle. 

Natori helped the boy up while looking around the area, his features perplexed. 

Hiiragi soon reappeared. They all looked at her, curious to know what she had seen at the bottom of the hill, but she shook her head.

“There was nothing.”

“Are you sure?” Natsume stepped closer to the horned-mask shiki. “That girl jumped off.”

“There was nothing there,” Hiiragi repeated her words. “Perhaps she was not a person.”

Natsume blinked. Once he had seen her, he’d had no other thoughts beside ones that said she was just like him. Perhaps hurt and alone. 

“Perhaps, none are people.” 

Hiiragi’s words hung over them as thickly as the fog did. The way the man had seemingly melted into the darkness of his shop. The way no one else appeared around the village. The mountain was locked in fog filled silence. The only words they had heard for a while were their own.

But there was no use in denying that something was amiss. something that made Natsume think the curse was much bigger and more elaborate than he had first thought.

“Natori-san? How long have we been here?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Natsume. It seems that this is taking longer than expected. Perhaps I can take you back. You shouldn’t miss school for this.” 

Natsume shook his head.

“No, I want to see this through. That’s not why I asked...”

Natori looked at him waiting for him to continue.

“ _ Sensei _ .” His bodyguard looked to him, his own mind puzzling things out of what they had experienced so far. “Have you eaten today?”

“Hm? Why’re you asking such a question now? Did you feed me?” Nyanko asked accusingly. But at the end, his mouth snapped shut, and his eyes widened.

Natsume turned to Natori, “Have you eaten, Natori-san?”

The exorcist did not seem to follow along. It truly was an odd question to ask under the current circumstances. “No, I haven’t,” and just like that, the meaning behind the question fell into place. Natori hadn’t eaten, and he wasn’t hungry. Food hadn’t been a thought to him in a while either. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Natsume continue to speak. “When I checked my bags this morning, I saw the food that we were given. Then I remembered that we didn’t eat anything since the first day.” But even saying that, his mind refused to pinpoint exactly how long ago the first day had been.

After a while under the fog, everything had seemed to bleed together. In the fog, the concept of time seemed to bend and flow however it decided. Natsume didn’t feel exhausted; he went to sleep simply when the sky darkened to black. Sometimes, that blackness seemed to come faster than it should.

“Perhaps we should check the cable car.” Natori spoke, his face serious and his mouth pulled down into a deep frown.

___

When they arrived at the cable car, Natori let out a sound of frustration. The transport would not start and it was easy to figure out that they were stuck in the area for now. 

“Seems like something wants to keep us here.” Nyanko grumbled in annoyance. 

“Natori-san,” The man turned to look at Natsume once his name was called. “About last night, with the thunder.” Natsume’s cheeks flushed remembering the way he had clung to Natori upon hearing what he had thought was thunder, the way he had shown such a vulnerable part of himself. 

Natori kept quiet to let him gather his thoughts for what he wanted to say. Nyanko looked at him inquisitively- it was his first time hearing anything about Natsume waking in the middle of the night.

“When I thought about it I realised it wasn’t thunder at all. It sounded more like bones.”

“Bones?” 

Natori’s eyes widened at the words. 

Natsume thought more about it, his eyes going unfocused as if he was hearing the sound at that very moment. “Definitely bones. They were rattling and loud so I mistook it for thunder at first. Do you know what it could be?”

Natori didn’t answer him right away. “First, let’s head back to the temple. There’s nothing that we can do here now that the cable car isn’t operational.”

“Alright.” Natsume picked Nyanko up from the ground and held him in his arms. As they walked back to the temple, Natsume recalled the moment they had first arrived. Walking the same pathway, he looked beyond the trees at all the shadows between them wanting to know if the birds would swarm them again. The thought stayed in his mind all the way to the temple, but the birds never came. He looked to Natori and saw the man’s face moulded in a look of seriousness. 

When they made it back, Natsume noticed that the temple was a bit harder to spot than it had been when they first saw it. The orange glow of the lantern, he realised, was no longer lit. 

Natsume looked back from the way they came, almost expecting the kind old woman to greet them once more. But like the birds, she was nowhere to be seen. 

Natori slid the door open and his footsteps halted. The small group stood where they were, not moving back or forth, not looking around. They stood still as a low rumbling disturbed the quiet. The noise grew louder and spread throughout the surrounding. It was everywhere. The dry sound of bone rubbing against bone.

A shiver ran along Natsume’s spine as the image of the cemetery he had run through flashed in his mind. Hundreds and thousands of bones scraped against each other until the sound resonated with the very bones within  _ them.  _ It peaked at a thunderous roar before fading to silence. 

It was only when quiet settled over the area that they all moved again. But the feeling that something was present along with them did not fade.

There was definitely something lurking within the fog. 

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Outside the windows, the sun had gone away, leaving darkness behind. Natsume lay in his futon staring up at the ceiling. He could not sleep. The events of the day playing in his mind. He turned his head to the side and saw that Nyanko and Natori were still asleep. 

Natsume sat up while Nyanko twitched beside his head but curled into a ball and stayed asleep. There were a few things that Natsume could not get out of his head. Who was the girl that he had seen in the clearing? Her eyes had stared at him, but it was like she did not see him. He could not remember the colour of her eyes either, even as he was staring back at her, willing her to be careful as she stood on the edge of the cliff. When she had jumped, Natsume thought he had seen someone die right before him. But from Hiiragi’s words, the girl was not human. 

Natsume glanced outside the windows. Sometimes he could not tell humans and spirits apart. He was fooled before in his childhood, as well as his life now. Maybe he would be better at it as time wore on, but was it hard for an exorcist like Natori to know as well? Did other spirits like Nyanko get fooled at times too? If everyone they had seen in the village since arriving were actually spirits, were they actually the only humans on the mountain? 

The image of the cemetery that the girl had led him through flashed through his mind. He wondered if there was a reason that they had gone through the cemetery in the first place. He did not believe that it was just a coincidence. Natori had searched the area before, but it seemed very big so maybe he had not gotten to search it all. 

Natsume got up from the futon. The more he thought about it, the more the idea stuck- there was something in the cemetery that would give them answers. He gathered the heavier outer  _ yukata _ jacket and put it on before walking to the room’s door. He glanced back once more to see the others still sleeping before he left. 

The halls of the temple were eerily quiet. The only light source came from lanterns strung along the walls. Natsume peeked into every open door or hallway, but by the time he exited the front door, he had not seen any trace of the old woman who had invited them. He wondered what had happened to her before he burst into a sprint toward the cemetery's location. 

Soon, the bridge connecting the cemetery to the rest of the village came into view. Natsume crossed over with no hesitation at all. There was only the brief thought that he should have brought a lantern, but the thought quickly washed away when he saw the stone lanterns along the pathway. Each one of them glowed bright orange, illuminating the cobblestones and the trees beyond them. On the raised banks of vegetation, there was a darkness so black it was hard to imagine there was anything existing there at all- a blank space that had yet to be used. But Natsume knew there was a world beyond it because he had chased after the girl along one of those off beaten paths. 

The pathway he was on beckoned him further along with it. The orange lights trapped in the stone lanterns, with tops that looked like roofs, peeked out of tiny windows on each side and guided him forward. A chattering noise echoed in the silence above the trees and Natsume looked up. Something darted from one tree to another. The boy could not make out the shape, only shadowy figures as the number of them increased, and the sound grew frenzied. Natsume gasped, and his legs propelled him further down the pathway as he tried to outrun whatever was behind him. He tripped, stumbled and fell onto the path. As he got up, he noticed that there was a tiny plank that turned from the pathway and went upward. Natsume walked toward it and when he looked in the direction he could see the mismatched stone steps and realised that he had somehow made it back to the area where the girl had led him. He began the climb. The earlier noise did not follow him, and soon everything fell into silence.

At the top, Natsume once again entered the clearing. The open space felt more unnerving than the narrow paths inside the cemetery. He looked around the area with eyes adjusted to the dark but still could not see much; the fog had grown much thicker the further he had gotten into the cemetery. Though there did not seem to be any graves around the clearing, the open field seemed to be covered with most of the dense fog. Natsume was careful as he wandered around the area. He knew there was a cliff nearby, but he could not see it.

“Hello?” He called out to the silence hoping the girl from before would still be there. Hoping someone would answer. He kept searching, kept calling, but he found nothing and no one answered back. 

The boy started to wonder if he had thought wrong, if there was nothing in the area after all. He sighed and turned back to the path he had taken to arrive in the clearing. He took one step before he froze. There was a rumble beneath his feet, roaring in his ears, growling behind his back. A wind picked up and whipped his hair around his face. The leaves around him were disturbed and swirled in a turbulent dance around him. The air felt warm against his neck but sent chills along his spine. 

Natsume spun around, stumbling back. He was faced with a wall of fog, or what appeared to be the dense opaque clouds of gray. An almost skeletal hand reached out toward him where his head had been, the skin stretched taut over the bones. Natsume’s gaze trailed up. He saw two large red orbs glowing with the intensity of a blazing fire. There were no pupils, iris,  _ nothing _ , just the unnerving flames, but Natsume knew that they were eyes. His body moved back, and he fell back onto the grass. The eyes shifted as he did, and he knew those eyes were staring directly at him.

His scream rang throughout the night.

___

Nyanko’s front paws twitched, and he snorted startling himself awake. He was about to roll over and close his eyes in order to fall back asleep when he saw something move in the corner of the room. His eyes focused and he saw the exorcist pulling on a heavier outer robe over his  _ yukata _ . 

“Humans and their weak bodies.” 

Nyanko stifled a yawn, and pat the bed beside him. “Right, Natsume?”

When he felt nothing but the bedding that he was stretched upon, he looked to see that it was empty. In fact, the futon looked as if it had barely been slept in. Nyanko’s eyes darted back to the exorcist who had by now summoned his most trusted shiki. There was a paper charm burning and wavering between his fingers. 

Nyanko’s eyes were drawn to the window. There was no rain, no lightning. And he had already realised that the low roiling sound that made his ears stand on alert was not thunder. He saw the shiki move as if to exit the room, but he was quicker. He jumped through the window, his small body transforming to its true form the second he was in the open air. 

Madara streaked through the fog. The sound of rattling bones rose and rang out as if it were the very air around him. But there was one place where it seemed the loudest. The one place where there were enough bones to even make such a sound. 

The cemetery.

___

Natsume’s breath was uneven, each breath fell on a shallow pant. He looked back to see the large bird-like creature still chasing after him. Its body as ghastly as it eyes, whenever it moved too fast for the fog to keep it hidden, Natsume could see straight through it. Sections of its body actually skeletal, the bones of its left wing actually visible. The spirit opened its beak, and the sound of those night sparrows made Natsume’s head ache. The sound was mixed and spliced with the chatters of the shadows he had also seen upon entering the cemetery. But what frightened him most were the screams. There were so many: young, old, female, male, but all Natsume could hear at the end was a shrill high pitch, and bones all around him. 

The spirit stretched its wings, its span crashing into and destroying the stone lanterns along the path. The orange lights within them floated up into the sky. Natsume could see wispy tails attached at the ends, and he knew. The lights were not lights at all, they were spirits that had been trapped within the lanterns. 

One of the spirits drifted in the path of the spirit chasing Natsume. Before the boy could cry out in warning, the giant bird spirit opened its beak snapping it shut around the lantern soul. Tears gathered in Natsume’s eyes at the sight before his feet caught on an uneven stone and pitched him forward. The bird spirit flew over him and his body felt hot and cold all over. 

The spirit turned back toward him, knocking over more stone lanterns as it did. It raced toward Natsume, but he rolled out of the way before stumbling back onto his feet to begin running again. He ducked in between some trees and burst onto another cobblestoned path. As he looked up, he saw a figure up ahead and his steps halted. When his eyes adjusted he could make out the dark-haired girl that he had seen before. She stood in the distance staring at him, not moving. In the next moment, her head shifted to look somewhere behind him before she turned and ran. Natsume did not wait before he ran after her. He looked back at the spot the girl had looked and saw the burning red eyes of the bird spirit looking at him. 

As he ran a bit further he saw the girl and called out to her. She made no indication of hearing anything, and Natsume had to follow her until she came to a halt in another clearing. In the middle of the new clearing, there was a medium-sized building that gave off an orange glow through the fog.

“You’re trying to show me something aren’t you?” Natsume asked but the girl did not respond. She looked toward the building, and Natsume did as well. He would not find anything out by just staring, so after another moment passed, he stepped into the building. He was immediately covered in an orange glow from all sides. From floor to ceiling, medium sided metallic lanterns sat on shelves. The boy walked over to one and it shimmered. He peered inside and his eyes widened. On the outside, they looked like regular lights, but just like the ones along the cemetery pathway, the lights were actually spirits. Natsume looked in several of the lanterns and they were all the same.

Natsume exited the building to ask about what he had just seen, but he could not see the girl who had led him no matter where he looked. The night chilled his skin despite the clothes he wore. The chill ran deeper when the tell-tale sign of the rattling bones reached his ear. 

He looked to his side and no sound escaped him. Only his eyes widened as he saw the giant red eyes staring at him through the fog, illuminating him in the glow of its burning fiery gaze.


	9. Chapter 9

Natsume felt the wind as it whipped around him, his clothes and hair rustling and shifting in every direction. He lay upon a bed of clouds, his body lolled by the softness that rose up around him. His cheeks, and nose, and neck tickled at the sensation. A soft breath of air left his lips as he turned to his side, seeking warmth, ready to sink back into slumber.

“Natsume.”

His eyes fluttered open and he saw beautiful, white fur all around him. He sank his hand into the softness, the thick white strands of fur threading between his fingers. “ _ Sensei _ . Where are we going?” His voice sounded rough and tired to his own ears. He sat up, nestling next to Madara’s neck as he watched the fog part and swallow them again.

He closed his eyes, and memories played behind his eyelids like a movie.

_ Natsume walked out of the building in the middle of the clearing. He wanted to ask the girl about the spirits that were kept in the lanterns. He wanted to know why she had led him there, and if it was related to why she had led him to the other clearing previously. But she was nowhere to be found. Natsume stepped further into the clearing and shivered. The night had been cold, but the chill he felt along his skin did not feel natural. _

_ The quiet of the night was once again disturbed by the unnerving sound of bones rattling and rolling over even more bones. The sound rose to a fever pitch in the time it took him to look to his side. The fog parted for two giant balls of fire that he knew belonged to the bird-like spirit that had chased him through the cemetery.  _

_ Natsume barely had time to react as the spirit reached out one of its skeletal hands to claw at him. He threw himself, bodily, out of harm’s way and saw the bone like fingers clench as they missed the swipe made at him. The bird spirit opened its beak wide, and Natsume was assaulted by a cacophony of sound. He could not hear his own thoughts but he knew with certainty that the spirit was angry.  _

_ The bird spirit flapped its wings, creating a large gust that blew toward Natsume. The boy could do nothing as the wind swept him off of his feet and pushed him back. His back collided with something hard and his vision danced, fading in and out of the darkness around him. His mind only registered that the thing he hit was the building in the clearing when the spirit sent another strong gust of wind. His body was picked up once again, and he found himself looking at the building’s roof. He hoped the building would not be destroyed. All the spirits inside would be in danger if it were. _

_ The winds from the bird spirit suddenly stopped, and Natsume’s body began a quick descent through the sky. The fog above him shifted, tightened, grew so dense that it looked like a solid wall, and shifted again. In the next moment, he was face to face with the fiery eyes of the bird spirit. It’s beak opened and he imagined being swallowed up by Hell.  _

_ “Natsume!” _

_ A bright blue light fought through the fog, trying to quell the fire in the spirit’s eyes. Natsume turned his head to see Madara’s large body barrelling toward him before he was enveloped into the soft fur. _

“ _ Sensei _ ! We have to go back!” Natsume grew alert, clarity returning from the fog within his mind. 

“Let the exorcist handle this on his own.” Madara’s voice rumbled deep in his throat. Natsume tangled his hands and fingers deeper into the beast’s fur, petting him distractingly. But his nerves were on edge.

_ Madara streaked through the sky until Natsume called to him, “Sensei, Natori-san and Hiiragi are down there.” He pointed to the two figures who had been running to where they had just come from. Madara descended, the ground shook slightly as he landed. _

_ Natsume slid from Madara’s large body, but his feet were not steady enough to hold him up. He swayed, and Natori caught and steadied him. _

_ “I saw the spirit that may have something to do with the fog. Part of its body was made of bones.” Natsume tried to get all the information that he could out so that he could let Natori know and continue working out the curse of the mountain. _

_ Upon hearing what Natsume had to say, Natori’s face grew grim. _

_ “It’s a bone spirit. They are born from places where a large number of deaths occur. They form and grow because the bodies cannot find rest.”  _

_ Natsume gasped, “Was that spirit...once a person?” _

_ Natori shook his head, “No. At least not any one person. It’s more that the resentment from all of the deceased gathered and that vengeful spirit was born. _

_ Natsume tried to process all of the new information, lining it up with things he knew from his encounter with the bird spirit and things he had heard from the villagers in the village below the mountain. “Are the spirits inside the building, in all those lanterns- are they spirits that are angry? Is the other spirit keeping them there to feed off of their anger?” A thought flashed through Natsume’s mind, and his eyes widened. “I saw it eat one of the spirits…” _

_ “Yes. Those spirits were probably the souls of the villagers who once lived here. The spirit feeds on them to get stronger.”  _

_ Natsume felt the prickling sensation of tears at the corners of his eyes. His heart hurt as it clenched tight in his chest.  _

_ “Huh! You don’t think that’s important information?” Madara roared at the man, but Natsume tried to calm him by placing a hand upon his snout.  _

_ “Sensei!” _

_ “No,” Natori shook his head accepting the anger, “He’s right.”  _

_ “What can we do?” Natsume asked, concern lacing each of his words. _

_ “You should head back, Natsume. I’ll do the rest.” _

_ “What? That’s dangerous!” Natsume frowned at the man. _

_ “No need to tell me” Madara scoffed as he gripped the back of Natsume’s shirt with his snout, and tossed the boy upon his broad back.  _

_ “Sensei!” Natsume cried out but his words were disregarded as Madara took off into the sky. Natsume opened his mouth to shout again but coughed instead. He held his stomach, the pain from colliding with the building flaring up within him again. The sudden altitude made him dizzy, and he closed his eyes, hoping it would pass soon enough. _

Madara’s eyes looked toward the sky. He could not see Natsume’s face but he did not need to see the boy’s expression to know what he was thinking. He expelled a breath of air from his nostrils, “You want to go back there, don’t you, brat?”

“I want to help,  _ sensei _ . I can’t let Natori-san do this on his own.” Natsume’s fingers tightened absentmindedly, “And more importantly…

_ I want to help the people of this mountain _ .”

Madara spoke the last few words along with Natsume, and the boy looked down at his bodyguard in surprise. 

Madara huffed out a large breath, parting the fog in front of them. “Always the same brat. At least there’re no rude spirits thinking they can have the Book of Friends.” He made a sudden turn in the air before darting back toward the area they had been fleeing from.

Natsume leaned forward, as if he was securing himself from falling off, and spread his arms out along Madara’s neck. “Thank you,  _ sensei _ .”

“Che.”

___

It did not take long to find the exorcist and his shiki again. During their stay on the mountain, there were only a few key locations that they had been to. And it seemed like they had already found the one at the centre of it all. 

Madara landed in front of them and Natori looked to him with a complex expression etched into his features.

“What are you doing back here?”

Madara’s nostrils flared, “I don’t want to hear anything from you, exorcist.”

Hiiragi stepped forward, but Natori held a hand out in front of her. His eyes were downcast, and he could barely meet Natsume’s gaze as the boy climbed down from the giant body of his bodyguard. 

Natsume walked over to Natori and placed a hand on his arm, “Let me help you help them, Natori-san. Isn’t that why you brought me with you?”

Natori opened his mouth to speak, but could not find the words immediately, so he closed his mouth instead. The current case was turning into one of the biggest ones that he had ever done, one of the most dangerous. But he knew he could not do it alone, and asked Natsume to come along. It was not just because of Natsume’s spiritual powers, or what he could lend to the case. It was because Natsume was the only other person he could trust, and there was no one else that he would think to ask. But because Natori knew the risks that could possibly arise from the case, he swore to himself that he would do everything he could to protect Natsume. He had even told the boy himself, and still, he had failed. He knew that he had not made the best decisions during the course of their trip.

Madara huffed, sending a wave of fog in Hiiragi and Natori’s direction, bringing the exorcist out of his thoughts. “If you want to protect the brat, do it properly... _ brat. _ ”

“I’ll protect you too, Natori-san,” Natsume looked up at the exorcist, and Natori felt something move inside of him as he finally met his gaze. Natsume looked at the shiki standing behind her master, and smiled. “I’ll protect you as well, Hiiragi.”

The shiki made a noise of surprise, and if any could see behind her mask, they would see her widened eyes. But the next moment she spoke, her voice was nothing but its even monotone. “I do not need protection.”

Madara’s eyes were clearly visible as he rolled them. “We’ll all protect each other,” he mocked and snorted, “Now let’s move before that pain of a spirit returns.”

“Natsume.” The boy stopped and looked when Natori called his name. “There’s something else you should know.”

“What is it?”

“We will have to perform an exorcism on this spirit. I thought a sealing would be enough, but the situation is worse than I expected.”

Natsume nodded, but did not say anything. The two stood in silence for a moment, their spirit companions ahead of them but still within hearing distance. 

Madara grumbled, “Oi, you’re wasting time.”

Hiiragi spoke, “This is important.” The large beast spirit huffed in impatience, but did not comment further.

Natsume wanted to know, “What will happen to the other spirits? The...souls?”

“They should find peace since there won’t be anything to imprison them any longer.”

Natsume touched his hand to his chin, listening carefully to Natori’s words. “What about the bird spirit?”

Natori looked at the boy through widened eyes, but they went back to normal just as quickly. He should not have been surprised that Natsume would care about the well being of even a spirit whose entire existence was to cause misery to others. He sometimes wondered how someone could stay so positive in a world of spirits. Natori placed his hand upon Natsume’s hair- he would try to help the boy stay that way as long as he could. Natori himself was too cynical to believe that such a mindset could remain the same forever. 

“Since that spirit is made up of only resentful energy, it has no real thoughts of its own. Its only goal is to create destruction Natsume, as it probably has for many years.” The boy still looked slightly troubled over the matter. Natori continued, “When we exorcise the spirit, it will be free from all of the hate, all of the anger. All of the souls on this mountain will be able to let go of their anger as well. They’ll finally be able to find peace.”

“...Okay. I’ll help as well. Let’s help them, Natori-san.” 

The look of determination swirling inside Natsume’s golden brown eyes left him speechless. He could only watch as the boy ran ahead to join the others.

Yes, Natori would try to protect the person that Natsume was now.    
  



	10. Chapter 10

Natsume watched as Natori checked the exorcism circle for the second time. He looked perturbed, which was not an emotion Natsume was used to seeing on the man.

“Natori-san.” Natsume called, finally gaining his attention. “Is there no way we can free the souls of the villagers now?”

Natori shook his head. “It’s more than the spirits just being on the mountain. I believe they can’t leave of their own free will.”

“Like their hate is keeping them bound.” Natsume hugged his knees to his chest. 

“You’ve heard of it before haven’t you, Natsume?” The boy looked curious. “When people die, some spirits linger because they have regrets, or desires that they want fulfilled.”

“Oh, yeah I’ve heard of that before.” Natsume began to draw in the dirt beside him. “I wonder why the people were so angry when they died.”

“There’s a chance we might never find out. Are you okay with that?”

“I’m not sure. But if there’s nothing else we can do, at least we can help them so that they don’t have to feel this way anymore.” 

His fingers continued to swirl absentmindedly in the dirt. Natori smiled at him and Natsume startled. 

“Are you laughing at me, Natori-san?”

“Of course not.” Natsume looked at him accusingly. “I just forget how...good you are.”

Natsume continued to look at him, his expression somewhere between curious and confused. “You’re good too. You should smile more.” Natsume looked away from him, his attention solely on the dirt beneath him, “Real smiles.”

The boy did not look up and missed the look of surprise that coloured the exorcist’s face. After a moment, the expression melted into the tiniest of smiles. There was a hint of self-deprecation in the creases, but it was all he could manage in this moment.

“Master.” Hiiragi fell from the sky to stand beside Natori. He looked at her, and Natsume stood, prepared for whatever would come next. 

The sound of bones met their ears before the two looked into the sky to see Madara flying toward them. A bout of confusion passed over the group as Madara seemed to be alone. But as they looked closely they could see the very fog above them warp from time to time, bright flashes of orange peeking through now and then.

“Are you ready, Natsume?”

Natsume nodded and ran to his side of the circle. The two waited anxiously for the moment the spirit would step into the circle so that they could activate the spell. 

The area soon came alive in the sounds of the mountain. Natsume once again heard the high pitched cries of the night sparrows that had called out to him and swarmed them when they first arrived. But there was something odd about it. The sound was no longer as distorted as it had been. It sounded far more quiet. 

Natsume looked around him to see if he could find the source.

Madara dashed across the circle as they all hoped the bird spirit would follow suit. It didn’t. 

“Natsume!” His attention was drawn back to the task before them, only to see the spirit’s fiery gaze upon him. His body flinched as a response, ready to seek safety. Natori had taken a running start toward him, tackling him to the ground. The spirit flew at them, missed and went over them instead. Hiiragi and Madara followed it to ensure it could not try again. Natori stood and helped Natsume up from the ground. 

“I’m fine. We have to try again.” Natsume brushed off the dirt from his clothing and tried to walk back to his side of the circle. Natori stopped him.

“It’s too dangerous after all. We have to find some way to lure it into the centre, while it’s somewhat solid.” The spirit was too fast, and it was impossible to trap fog- not when it was everywhere. 

“I can do it.” 

“No.” Natori’s voice was firm, and left no room for argument. 

“What else can we do?”

Natori looked out into the distance where Hiiragi and Madara were still stuck in a frantic dance against the bird spirit. He placed his hand against his chin, trying to think of a solution. After a moment he pulled out a few sheets of paper from within his robe’s sleeves and threw them into the centre of the circle.

“Alright then, Natsume. Let’s do this together.”

The boy perked up at his words, anxious to hear the plan. Natori called forth his other two shiki, and they appeared in seconds. They stood by, awaiting his orders. He looked at everyone before carefully explaining his plan. Natori and Natsume would have to stand in the middle of the circle in order to lure the spirit close enough. After that, the paper that Natori had thrown in the middle would active and drag it to the very centre. The two males would need to get out quick enough to start the exorcism. It was a delicate plan, but there was no more time to think of anything else. 

Natori sent his shiki to relay the message to Madara and Hiiragi and to help out if any issues were to arise. When they left, Natori turned to Natsume, his face serious.

“Leave the circle on my word. Don’t try to do anything else.”

“You too.” Natsume nodded and they both moved to position themselves in the centre of the circle. All that was left was to wait until the spirit would come their way. 

It did not take much time for their plan to fall into motion. Their spirit companions soon fell out of reach of the bird spirit, escaping its immediate gaze. But when they were no longer targets, the bird spirit’s sights were set on the two within the circle. They stared into its endless fiery eyes before that too vanished. The spirit’s form shrouded within the blanket of fog. 

Natori’s eyes narrowed, his brows knitted in concentration. The spirit would reappear soon. 

Natsume knew it too. He waited for that telltale shiver to run along his skin: how the spirit would form only to stretch its boney fingers toward them; where its beak and wings would peek out from within the fog to send warm bursts of air to ruffle their hair and clothes; when those burning eyes would fall upon them as if to set them on fire.

“ **NOW** !”

Natori and Natsume cried out in unison and dived toward opposite sides just as the spirit appeared behind them. Natori activated his paper charms and they stretched and grabbed at the spirit’s body, giving it no time to react as it was dragged to the centre of the circle. Both Natori and Natsume clasped their hands, palms together. Their eyes closed as their mouths fell open, word after word formed on their lips, crafting a chant that ensured the bird spirit remained captive.

The circle lit up; cackles of blue, red, orange, purple, and blinding white strips of light shot up around them. The bird spirit in the centre tried to flap its wings, but the lights were like chains that held it in place. It was not deterred. The bird spirit’s beak fell open, face to the sky, and a painful sound escaped it. Natsume knew the sound- it was the cries of the deceased that the spirit had fed upon, had been created from. Cries of loss, sadness, pain, anger, hate.

Natsume’s palms pressed tighter together, his chants turned into pleading. His eyes were screwed shut in concentration. Natori stood on the other side- a practiced force behind every word.

The spirit cried out again. They tried not to react to the harsh sounds that echoed within their bodies. 

A sudden gust of wind whipped by Natsume, the air felt hot against his cheek. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction to see what had caused the disturbance. 

Madara jumped beside him, deflecting a wayward spirit that had tried to get its hands on the boy, “Focus, you brat.” The great beast spirit growled and flicked his tail sending another spirit flying away from them. 

The scene was utter chaos. When the giant bird spirit had let its horrible cries ring into the air, several small spirits had come in answer. Upon closer inspection, there were even ghost-like spirits in human form- the souls whose resentment resonated strongly. Natsume looked over to Natori to see Hiiragi beside him fending off all that tried to get near. Even Sasago and Urihime remained close by in order to protect both Natsume and Natori as they continued the ritual. 

With Natsume’s concentration broken, the bird spirit tried to move its body toward the edge of the circle. The threads of light around its body shimmered and stretched taut trying to keep it in place, but the spirit was slowly gaining control. Its movements were slow, but it managed to turn and reach a hand out to Natori’s direction, trying to break his concentration too. 

Hiiragi turned, sword drawn, waiting for the moment the spirit breached the circle. But she still had to defend against all the other smaller spirits that came from her other side.

Natsume did not know what to do as everything unfolded in front of him. If he could find some way to distract the spirit so that it could stay within the circle a little longer, maybe they would be fine. His mind raced, each idea ticking away faster with each move the bird spirit made. The only option that surfaced was to throw himself into the centre of it all.

Natsume took a deep breath not knowing if he would be caught up in the exorcism as well or if it was something only spirits were subjected to. But he took a step forward. And stopped.

A blur flashed before his eyes, and when it became clear, Natsume saw the figure of the girl who had led him to various parts of the village. He wanted to call out to her, but she turned her back to him and walked toward the spirit. As if sensing her presence and not being able to leave it alone, the bird spirit turned toward her. It opened its beak to release another shriek, but the girl was not phased. 

She took a step toward it until she was at arm's length, before turning back to look at Natsume. He closed his eyes and began chanting. The girl’s sudden appearance was the extra time they needed to complete the spell.

The world within the mountain was encapsulated in a bubble of noise. The chants from Natori and Natsume’s lips barely reached their own ears. The ground beneath them shook violently as if the very mountain was alive, as if all those that were buried were trying to claw their way back to the surface. The winds blew, strong gusts beat hot and cold upon their skin, and ripped at their clothes and hair. The fog gathered and expanded- pulsing in and out like a heart.

And then it was over.

The electricity that sparked in strips of light fizzled and popped before it died out. The earth settled, the wind stilled, the fog calmed, the noise ceased.

Everything fell silent.

Natsume opened his eyes. The bird spirit lay on the ground, its body lit in blue spiritual flame; burning away everything hateful inside it until there was no more. 

Madara landed on the ground beside Natsume, his paws barely touching before he transformed back into Nyanko. The imitation cat let out a large breath of exhaustion as he fell belly first to the ground. Hiiragi came next, her form slightly slouched and her breath shallow. Urihime and Sasago followed and Sasago placed a hand on the horned-masked shiki’s shoulder to keep her steady as they all stood beside Natori. 

They were all weary, but their attention was captured by the sight before them. All around them, hundreds and thousands of tiny orange lights floated up into the sky. There were tiny cracks that came from the building beside them. Natsume turned to look and saw more of the lights rising to meet the others, long wispy tails trailing behind them.

The entire sky lit up in their soft glow as if morning had finally come, taking the fog with it. Tears gathered in Natsume’s eyes as he watched them all drift away, the mountain no longer a prison to hold them. He saw something move in his peripheral and turned to see the girl who had helped them. He could finally see the dark brown of her hair as it was highlighted in the light of the souls. 

Her eyes were as brown and warm as her hair, as they twinkled with the light of her smile. Her feet lifted from the ground as she rose to meet the others. Her body disappearing in little sun spots. She reached out a hand to touch Natsume’s face, and tears ran down his cheeks.

_ Thank You _

_ “Kaori! Hurry up!” The girl turned to the one that called her. She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulders and stood.  _

_ “What’s wrong?” Her voice was as warm as the sunlight that became more rare with each passing day in the mountain village. _

_ “We have to leave this place. Everyone is going to the ropeways. We can’t get left behind!”  _

_ “Leave?” Her warm brown eyes surveyed the area, the mountain village that she had known all her life. She ran toward the ropeway, passing by a temple where she stopped. The lantern in front of it lit, always open and awaiting weary travellers, though they did not get much these days. “Grandma! They say we should head to the ropeways.” _

_ “Oh, sweet child. My bones are not what they used to be.”  _

_ The girl laughed, and helped the old woman up, as they both made their way to the ropeway. The rest of the villages were gathered, some shouting in angry voices. She helped the old woman find a place to sit before pushing her way to the front. _

_ “What’s happening? Did the ropeway not return?” _

_ One of the villagers scoffed. “Return? Look at that!” He pointed to the rope station, and the girl gasped in surprise. The rope had been cut, and even if it was not, the path that led to the village below was completely destroyed. She looked at those around her, the ones that wept, the ones that screamed, the ones that stayed silent, the ones that just wanted to know, “why?” _

_ But she knew why the ropeway would be destroyed. While she loved her home in the mountains, it was said to be cursed. And the ones in the mountain saw that better than anyone else. Death, disease, famine. Anything and everything could happen. The ones who lived in the village below feared the curse. There were times when they would visit in the past, but as time wore on, those visits become less and less until there was a clear divide between villages. And now there was no way to bridge that gap. _

_ Time wore on, and the sun struggled to shine upon them. Some of the villagers tried to repair the way, but many met their end in unfortunate accidents. The sick soon passed when there was no more medicine to buy. Depression struck and people passed when they could no longer handle their circumstances. Those that did not, simply cursed the ones that cursed them to their fate. _

_ Time continued to pass, and the sun didn’t bother shining anymore. The village lost its warmth, as it lost the sun, and a thick fog settled over the area. The villagers did not bother to meet each other anymore. They hid in their shops, and houses waiting for their time to come. _

_ The girl sat at her favourite spot, feet dangling over a cliff looking at the dreary gray before her. She coughed, and a shiver ran through her body. She stood ready to return home, when her feet swayed beneath her and her vision went dark. She had dreams of floating through clouds. _

_ Time had passed when she finally woke up. She made her way up the cliff. Loud noises beckoned her like the pied piper. She broke through the trees and saw people everywhere. They looked sad, as they lay down stones into the earth, and boxes of ashes beneath pillars. But there were people! The girl called to them, though her voice held no sound, and she ran toward them. She waved her hands before them, but they did not see her. _

_ She heard a noise behind her and turned. A man she did not know carried a body within his arms. The girl ran to him to see who he held, and saw a girl with dark brown hair. The girl’s dark brown eyes widened, knowing that if the other girl’s eyes were open they would be the exact same shade. _

“Kaori….” Natsume whispered as his eyes flickered open.

“Natsume…?” Natsume focused and took in the faces of Natori and Nyanko hovering above him. He sat up, his eyes blinking rapidly as tears welling and streaming down his face. He swiped at them with his hands, but they continued to fall. “Sorry...”

___

Natsume looked back at High Field Mountain, the top of it no longer covered in the gray, dready fog. Several of the villagers from the nearby village made their way to the ropeway, various types of offerings in their hands. They would pay their respects to the dead.

Natori picked up their bags from the ground. “Let’s go home.”

Natsume nodded, and Nyanko bounded up to his shoulder settling on his familiar perch. Natsume stood but before he took a step a memory of something he had promised came to mind.

“What’s wrong?”

It had been several days since Natsume and Natori had started the case at High Field Mountain. But in reality, the mountain’s curse kept them trapped in a tiny pocket in time. While it had felt like a long time to them, only a few days had passed outside the mountain’s wall of fog. In that time, he had wondered when they would be able to leave, when he would see his friends again, and the Fujiwaras. And now, after a long time, he was finally going home.

“Um, can we buy souvenirs before we leave?”   
  


**Author's Note:**

> This idea had been bouncing around in my head ever since my friend and I did a temple stay in Wakayama. Even though the prefecture isn’t where Natsume Yuujinchou is based, everything about the experience just inspired so much Natsume ideas. So I’m glad I got to put it to use for the Bang.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the ride~ ;)


End file.
